Lost In You
by UniverseInsideofYourHeart
Summary: Caroline drops by to see Tyler after the events of the finale.
1. Chapter 1

Lost In You

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. I just borrow them for some fun .

Summary: Caroline drops by to see Tyler after the events of the finale.

Spoilers: All of Season 1

To say that Tyler was surprised to see Caroline when he opened the door is an understatement. When he had last seen her, she was curled up in a hospital bed, face drawn and pale with pain. It was difficult for Tyler to equate that image with the girl in front of him now. The Caroline who stood in front of him did not appear weak or injured, but rather fierce as she thrust a pan of food towards Tyler with a determined expression on her face. He must have looked confused because Caroline skipped the customary greeting and explained.

"It's lasagna," her voice raising up, as if he was challenging her on the contents of the pan.

"I see that. But what are you doing on my doorstep giving it to me?" Tyler shot back, absently taking the heavy pan from her hands.

Caroline looked relieved to have the weight taken from her, and for a moment Tyler could see the fatigue she was fighting to hide. Her mouth opened as if to answer, then snapped closed as she looked away. Caroline was obviously uncertain how to answer, which amused Tyler. He had rarely ever seen her put this much forethought into what she was going to say.

"Bonnie told me about what happened to your dad. I'm so sorry Tyler."

Tyler was caught off guard when, after biting her lip in uncertainty for a moment, Caroline threw her arms around his neck. He was stunned. Tyler and Caroline didn't do the hugging thing. They bantered, bickered, even played drinking games together, but never really hugged. Tyler absently noticed that her hair smelled like a combination of vanilla, peaches, and lavender. Tyler could distinguish the scents due to his mother's insistence in having lavender bushes in the garden. She loved to take the opportunity to point them out to people, bragging that the family enjoyed the constant assault to their senses from the fragrance.

Even though he was distracted by the scent of Caroline's hair, Tyler was putting his guard up as well. He was not ready to talk about his father's death. People he had never even met kept calling his home to offer their condolences. His mother handled it the way she always did, with effortless grace and charm, handling her grief with composure. There hadn't been a funeral yet because his distant relatives needed more time to make arrangements to travel to Mystic Falls, as if his father had been impolite by dying suddenly.

It had been ten days since his father died, and the most Tyler had been able to mentally process was the fact that his father, the man who he loved but didn't like, was dead. Tyler didn't want to talk about it, didn't want to receive sympathy or condolences, but that didn't stop him from throwing one arm around Caroline's slim waist, the other one still holding the lasagna.

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Caroline cringed in slight pain when Tyler wrapped his arm around her waist, but she just held on tighter. Her injuries weren't healed yet, but Caroline wouldn't back down from comforting Tyler, not when she knew how much he had been there for her while she was in the hospital.

According to the nurses, Tyler had been a constant presence by her side while she was unconscious, only to disappear as soon as she was awake. The nurses knew him well, since various injuries from football or fights had made him a frequent visitor of the hospital. Furthermore, he was a Lockwood. Everyone in Mystic Falls knew who the members of the Founding Families were.

Caroline had been surprised that Tyler had been there. Granted they had talked more in the past few weeks, with Tyler making attempts to get back on Matt's good side, but they couldn't even be described as friends usually. Maybe the shared experience of the car accident had forged some sort of friendship. Or maybe Tyler just felt guilty about crashing the car they were in.

Either way, he had spent the most time with her in the hospital out of any visitors, even if she couldn't remember it. Tyler had been the last person she expected to have patiently waited by her bedside, but the fact that he had, helped make the pangs of unbearable loneliness of her life subside. It seemed odd that he disappeared when she awoke, but Caroline knew she would never get a straight answer from him, even if she asked.

Caroline noticed that Tyler had started to look uncomfortable, so she stepped back from the hug. The embrace had caused a few wrinkles in the new green short-sleeved blouse she was wearing, giving Caroline the opportunity to escape an awkward pause by devoting a moment to smooth out the wrinkles. She felt strands of hair stick to her forehead, and cursed the humidity that Mystic Falls had suddenly been plagued with. The dampness was making her normally smooth tresses frizzy. Without waiting for an invitation, Caroline escaped from the heat by pushing past Tyler and entering the foyer.

"Why don't you come in" Tyler said sarcastically.

"Don't mind if I do. If you were a gentleman you would have asked" Caroline retorted, moving her way further into the living area of the mansion. Tyler followed, setting the lasagna down on large dining room table, all the while rolling his eyes. This did not escape Caroline's careful attention.

"Don't be a jerk, I brought you food. You could at least be grateful."

"Maybe I'll be more grateful when you explain why you brought me it" Tyler returned.

"You love lasagna" Caroline said, unwilling to let Tyler make her regret bringing it, even though she had let Matt do so. She knew her attempt at cooking for Matt and his mother after Vicki's death was largely unappreciated. They appeared annoyed with her every time she brought something over.

"How would you know what I like to eat Forbes?"

"Remember when we were eight, and our third grade class had a potluck lunch? Elena's mom baked lasagna for her to bring in, and you ate like half of it. It's a miracle you weren't fat when we were kids." Caroline stated this all matter-of-factly, eyes quickly skimming over Tyler's well toned body.

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Tyler was both insulted and impressed. Caroline was simultaneously the most oblivious and the most astute person he had ever met. People did not give her enough credit for her ability to notice small details about those she cared about and remember them. He used to be one of the worst offenders, thinking that Caroline was shallow and self-absorbed.

Most of their friends credited her relationship with Matt for making her deeper, but Tyler had noticed Caroline's potential for depth long before they started dating. Since both Tyler and Caroline were members of the founding families, they had spent their whole lives forced to interact. They were in the same play groups as children, at the same parties, the same events.

Over time, Tyler had started noticing more things about Caroline than he used to. It's not like he would look for the details, but he had somehow developed a radar that let him know when she was in the room. It was like the whole room got brighter when she was in it.

He would see the expression on her face when people hurt her and the concerned looks Caroline threw Elena's way when no one was looking. Everyone knew that Caroline saw Elena as competition, but that didn't stop her from worrying about Elena after her parents died. No one saw it, Tyler doubted Caroline even knew she did it, but he noticed.

Even though he was giving her grief about the lasagna, Tyler knew why Caroline gave it to him. She had never been good at showing that she cared, and people took her inability to demonstrate her feelings as a sign of self-involvement. Tyler had never been great at showing feelings himself so he understood Caroline in that aspect. Baking something that he liked was her way of showing her support. He would never admit to anyone, but he thought the gesture was sweet. Letting the subject of the lasagna drop, Tyler directed their banter elsewhere.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Tyler asked, without the double innuendo he knew she would have expected from him. In response, Caroline stood up straighter, doing her best to project an image of the picture of health.

"I'm fine. Spending my time lying around and sleeping is just a recipe for weight gain anyway."

Tyler had always admired Caroline's trim figure and the way she flaunted it in her cheering uniform. He didn't think a couple weeks of rest would change her body much. He also wasn't buying the "I'm healthy" charade Caroline was trying to pull off.

She was dressed normally, but her choice of clothing didn't make her look any healthier. Tyler liked green on Caroline and it made him think of how hot she looked at the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant. She had danced with his cousin, but had come across as far more graceful than her partner. Now though, the green just seemed to make her skin look paler. It was hot and humid outside and she still resembled Snow White. Caroline also looked incredibly tired, as if the spirit that she had come through the door with had drained from her.

Not giving her a chance to protest, Tyler took Caroline's arm and directed her through the rooms to one of the couches in his elaborate living room. He looked back and grinned at the expression of annoyance on Caroline's face. She was obviously not happy at being dragged around and the fact that Tyler didn't believe her.

He was used to her annoyance though, so it didn't bother him. In fact, he liked their bantering. Very few girls could rise to the occasion like Caroline. There was nothing more comforting in his time of grief, than being able to behave normally with her.

"You know, I would have expected you to take full advantage of your condition. Make everyone wait on you, tending to your every need." It was the truth. It wasn't like Caroline to give up attention by not broadcasting that she wasn't feeling well. Caroline grimaced in response.

"Well it's not much fun being pampered, when there isn't really anyone around to pamper you" she returned, eyes casting briefly away.

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Caroline had been disappointed, but not surprised, at the lack of attention her hospital stay had prompted. The accident had occurred the same night that Elena's Uncle John had been brutally stabbed, Jeremy had overdosed on Elena's medication, and Tyler's father had suffered a heart attack and died. It was one unlucky night in Mystic Falls.

Sheriff Forbes had been there when she regained consciousness, a day and a half after the accident. Caroline and her mother had never been close, but there wasn't anyone Caroline wanted to see more at that moment. Just Caroline's luck someone called the sheriff to some other emergency and her mother had to apologize quickly and head out to investigate. She hadn't seen her mother much since then.

Elena had understandably not been by to see Caroline, since two of her relatives were also in the hospital. The doctors hadn't let Caroline go to the floor that the Gilbert's were on, but luckily she was allowed her cell phone to send Elena a few texts to show her support. She and Elena hadn't begun as the best of friends, but after the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant, they had been getting closer.

Bonnie had been by to see her at the hospital, and she was the one who told Caroline about the events on Founder's Day. Bonnie seemed distracted though, and Caroline didn't have enough energy to keep the conversation going herself. She was almost relieved when Bonnie had left. At least her friend had called her a few times to check in, and had offered to come by and help Caroline if she needed it. Caroline had been tempted, but knew that Bonnie was still dealing with her grandmother's loss and that Elena may need her too.

Matt had been there while she was in surgery, but Caroline hadn't seen much of him since the car accident. Matt had told her he wished he could have stopped by more, but he was working. He also was trying hard to be there for Tyler and Elena in their time of need. Caroline had to bite her tongue to not point out that _she_ was in the hospital, and could have used her boyfriend by her side more. He looked so sincere though, and it made it difficult for her to stay angry at him.

"No one to pamper you? Where's Matt been?" Tyler asked curious.

"He's been busy," Caroline defended her boyfriend. "He has to work a lot since times are tough for him right now. Of course you know all this."

Tyler looked liked like he wanted to say something, but when no words came from him she shifted her glance away and sought a subject to break the awkward silence that had settled.

"So have you eaten?" Caroline asked.

"No, why?" Tyler asked confused.

"I brought lasagna remember? It should still be warm."

She was sure that other people had probably brought food over, but she wasn't sure if Tyler had been eating any of it though. That is why she had cooked lasagna, knowing Tyler may be more likely to eat it, than any of the gourmet stuff other people might bring.

"I guess I could have some." Tyler said reluctantly. Despite his loving lasagna, he didn't look enthusiastic about eating any.

"Good. Would you get me some too while you are up?" Caroline asked.

Tyler looked like he was about to make a remark about her getting some herself, but he stopped after he looked her over once. Caroline wished he would stop doing that. While she enjoyed not having to get up and go get some food, and honestly didn't feel like she had enough energy to do so anyways, she wished he would stop looking at her like he was waiting for her to collapse. Though, she couldn't help but be touched by his concern.

Caroline watched Tyler as he dragged his feet to the dining room, where he had placed the pan of lasagna. She could hear him walk to the kitchen and heard the sound of him getting plates from one of the overhead cabinets. While he was doing that, Caroline took a moment to glance around the room.

As a child, Caroline had been impressed by the ornate furnishings of the Lockwood mansion. Now what she saw gave her a new understanding of how lonely it must be to live there. The mansion was filled with history, artifacts from both her and Tyler's ancestors. There was little evidence in the living room that a family currently lived there now. The only exception being a large family photo of Tyler and his parents poised for the camera dressed in their Sunday best. There were no pictures of Tyler as a child, no unflattering photos of a pregnant Mrs. Lockwood, no family mementos displayed anywhere. Nothing in the large room gave off any feeling of warmth.

She didn't think there was any more warmth in Tyler's family than the impersonal impression of his family home. Caroline knew that Tyler had had a rough relationship with his father and suddenly felt more appreciative of her mother. Caroline had never liked Mayor Lockwood much, since it always seemed like he was waiting for the girls to get older so he could hit on them. She also didn't appreciate the way he treated Tyler.

Her dislike of Mayor Lockwood didn't stop her from feeling sorry for Tyler though. No matter how poor the relationship between father and son, she was sure Tyler was hurting over the loss of his father. Her own father may have practically abandoned her, but he was still alive.

Tyler came back in with the plates of food, disturbing Caroline from her thoughts. They ate in relative silence, neither knowing exactly what to say to the other. Caroline was amused when a piece of cheese got stuck to Tyler's chin and Tyler kept on chewing unaware of it.

"You have something on your chin." Caroline said with a smirk.

Tyler looked a little embarrassed and moved his hand to wipe it off. She didn't know how he kept missing the cheese; one swipe with his hand should have taken care of it.

"Here" She said with frustration. Caroline took one of the napkins Tyler had brought with him from the kitchen, and leaned over to wipe the cheese off from Tyler's face. Tyler seemed disconcerted by her invading his personal space. She wasn't sure what the big deal was, he obviously needed the help.

"Thanks" Tyler mumbled looking away with a blush forming on his cheeks. Caroline had never seen him blush, or be embarrassed for that matter, so it just added to her amusement.

Caroline was pleased that after that the conversation started flowing better. He talked about wanting to still attend football camp in the summer and asked if she was going to the cheering one. She was, which lead to Caroline telling Tyler a story where Beth from her cheering squad got so worked up from watching him at practice one day that she toppled the pyramid over. She was sure that Beth would scream if she found out that Caroline had told Tyler what happened, but Caroline thought it was worth it to hear his laugh and see that arrogant smirk come back. She thought Tyler had a great laugh.

When they were done eating, Tyler took the plates back out to the kitchen, only to return with some movies in hand.

"My dad had a flat screen installed in the family room, want to watch a movie?" Tyler asked, seeming to notice her confused expression.

"Sure. What do you have?" Caroline didn't have any other plans for the evening, and was having a good enough time that she didn't mind prolonging leaving further.

Tyler held up Terminator and Fight Club which Caroline quickly objected to.

"I'm not watching a chick flick, so don't even try to convince me to watch the Notebook or anything like that. " Tyler said adamantly.

Caroline rolled her eyes, since she had never thought she could convince Tyler to watch the Notebook in the first place. But she refused to be subjected to a night of machine gun firing and men beating each other up. Tyler and Caroline continued to argue over which movie to see before they compromised and settled on The Departed. She was pleased, since the guys in the movie were gorgeous and the romance was great. It didn't stop her from elbowing him hypocritically when he mentioned that there was a hot blonde in it. He just smirked at her and pointed out that the action was good as well.

They moved to the family room where the television was, and fortunately the more comfortable couches. A companionable silence fell over them as they watched the movie, only broken when she would yell out or close her eyes at the violence and he would laugh at her. Caroline was tired though and she didn't make it past the middle of the movie before she fell asleep.

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It took a minute or two for him to notice that she fell asleep. Tyler looked at the sleeping Caroline, no longer interested in what was playing on screen. The light coming from the television only softened her features, making her appear angelic somehow. Embarrassed at how lame his thoughts sounded, Tyler looked away from her face.

Her blouse had started to ride up and Tyler was tempted to pull it up further to see the damage he had caused when he crashed the car. She had put on a good act tonight, but he was upset that she risked her health by coming over here when she should be resting. Mystic Falls was dangerous enough these days without making poor personal choices.

He hoped she never found out he had been with her at the hospital. Tyler still wasn't sure why he had sat with her so long. He had felt guilty, intensely so, but it was more than that. After his father died everything was in chaos. Tyler had escaped to the hospital with the excuse of needing to check up on Caroline and found the silence in her hospital room had been exactly what he needed. Tyler had expected for the silence to be interrupted by visitors for Caroline, but besides a few drop bys, they were relatively alone.

Almost none of her so-called friends had been there, not even her boyfriend. He let Caroline believe that Matt had been coming to see him, but Tyler had barely heard from his best friend. He received one brief visit and one phone call. All these strangers kept coming by, but his best friend couldn't bother. It was obvious that Matt had been spending his time with Elena, still not having gotten the message that she had moved on. Tyler wouldn't sell out Matt to Caroline though. Matt was his boy, which meant that Tyler would always have his back, even if he thought Caroline deserved better.

More than the peace that the hospital room offered, Tyler just needed to be there. He needed to check to see that she was still breathing. She was Caroline Forbes, the girl that used to smack him for pulling her pig tails, the girl who distracted the waiter while he stole them glasses of wine at one of his parents' parties, the girl who he couldn't picture Mystic Falls without. The idea of not seeing her around everywhere was enough to keep him in that uncomfortable chair in her hospital room. He didn't leave until he knew she was okay.

Once she had woken up, Tyler had initially left out of embarrassment for having sat by her side while she was still sleeping. He hadn't even done that for Vicki. He stayed away for different reasons though. While Tyler enjoyed Caroline's company, she shouldn't be around him right now. It wasn't safe. Tyler wasn't stupid, he knew about his father's secret meetings with members of the founding families. He knew that something was going on in Mystic Falls. Tyler had just never cared before, since it didn't interfere with anything he did. But now his father was dead and Tyler wanted answers. How anyone could expect him to believe that his father died of a heart attack was beyond him.

Witnesses said that several people had collapsed at the same time his father did, never to be seen of again. This happened around the same time that he had heard the horrendous noise that caused him to grip his ears in pain, ultimately crashing the car in the process. Tyler didn't know why people were covering up his father's death, but they were.

Tyler did know that a lot of people had died recently. Animal attacks, drug overdoses, heart attacks, Mystic Falls must have one of the highest death rates in North Carolina, but it was just a small town. Science and math weren't Tyler's strongest subjects, but he was willing to bet that the town's rate of deaths by animal attacks blew the national statistics out of the water.

He was also willing to bet the Salvatore brothers knew what was going on, since all the deaths occurred not long after they moved to town. If the Salvatore brothers were up to something, he was pretty sure Elena knew, and which meant Bonnie knew as well. Elena and Bonnie had been tight for a long time, and there was no way Elena would keep this kind of secret from her.

It was obvious that Caroline was not in the loop though. He would have known, something about the way she moved or spoke would have betrayed it. At the beginning of the school year she had looked like she had known something, but that look went away too quickly for him to be sure. Whether the Salvatore brothers were involved or not, Tyler would find out what Mystic Falls' big secret was.

He knew there was something. Ever since his hearing that screeching noise, Tyler's body had been humming, hyper alert. The outside now felt like it was calling him, the woods eager to whisper their dark secrets. He would listen, because it may be the only way to protect those he cared about.

He was going to keep Caroline in the dark until he knew what the secrets were. If it would endanger her to know, he would make sure she never found out. Tyler had already risked her life once, he wouldn't do it again. But he wouldn't keep her out of the loop if he could help it. He wouldn't let her own ignorance get her killed.

With that pact made with himself, Tyler covered Caroline up with a blanket he went and got from his room, and settled in on the couch opposite from her. He snorted when he heard Caroline mumble something about the color of her nail polish clashing with her clothes. He never knew Caroline was a sleep talker, but Tyler figured it made sense. With as much as she talked when she was awake, it wasn't surprising that even her sleep wouldn't be silent. With that amusing thought, Tyler pulled up his blanket, shifted to his side and fell asleep. Sleep was easy to come by for him, the first time in days. Both of them slept well that night, comforted by the presence of the other.

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"Love is friendship set on fire"-Jeremy Taylor

Thank you for reading! Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Lost In You

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. I just borrow them for some fun.

Spoilers: All of Season 1

Author's Note: Thank you for the wonderful reviews! This chapter is a little shorter than the last and entirely in Tyler's POV.

Tyler stood in front of the old oak mirror that hung in his bedroom, trying to adjust his new black Armani tie. He grunted in frustration when it came out crooked again and immediately ripped the scrap of sleek satin off his neck to try and do over.

The weather was not helping his mood. The sky had been overcast all morning, with only a little bit of sun breaking through the dark clouds. His mother had fretted that it would rain all day, but the weatherman on Channel 6 eased her worries when he said that the showers weren't supposed to come until later that evening. It would be perfect day for a funeral.

Being a member of one of the founding families often required him to don a suit for auspicious occasions; therefore he had learned early on how to tie a proper Windsor knot. Today though, his fingers couldn't accomplish even the most familiar of tasks. Tyler's hands had a hard time remaining steady and confident when he knew what he would be facing when he left the sanctuary of his room. He was not entirely prepared to lay his father to rest.

Tyler could vaguely remember when his father had first taught him how to tie a knot, or more accurately, when Tyler had first accomplished the task on his own. When he was a child, his father would come to his room before a party and help him with the Windsor knot. He would explain the steps to doing it correctly, and always took the time to also emphasize the behavior he would expect of Tyler that evening. It was a ritual, a tradition of theirs.

Tyler hadn't appreciated the constant reminders about what was expected of him, and before one party when he was eight years old, he let his father know it. It was developing into quite the argument when suddenly his father just stopped and smiled. Tyler had looked down to see what he was smiling about, to find that he had tied the knot himself while they were arguing. His father looked so proud of him, something that hadn't happened often in Tyler's life. It was one of his favorite memories.

Tyler was brought back to the present when his mother knocked softly on the door, reminding him that they had to leave soon. He managed to finally get his knot adjusted to what he knew would be his father's standards, and then put on his jacket. Tyler looked up at the mirror one last time and was slightly startled by how scared he looked. He was upset that his facial expression betrayed his feelings so obviously. He fixed a look of cool composure on his face and walked out the bedroom door.

"Your tie is wrinkled" Tyler's mother greeted him with when he got into the limousine that would take them to the cemetery.

Tyler rolled his eyes, not wishing to speak to her if she was going to be critical. Not today. He immediately felt bad when he saw how hard his mother was trying to keep it together. Tyler's mother would be terribly upset if she realized that she was pulling at the threads on her expensive dress.

He grabbed his mother's hand, which stilled the nervous plucking of the black garment. She squeezed tightly back, while closing her eyes, and Tyler felt a rare moment of connection form between them. As expected, she only allowed them this brief moment of bonding before she quickly pulled her hand away. The Lockwoods weren't known for being touchy-feely types.

"I ordered white roses for the funeral, but they sent pink roses instead. Pink roses! That flower shop will never receive my business again. I swear they prove how incompetent they are whenever I order anything from there. It's not like their job requires much of an education! They should be able to follow simple directions." Tyler's mother continued to rant on.

Tyler had heard about this for the last few days. He wasn't sure what the big deal was since they were able to find a flower shop on the outskirts of town that had plenty of white roses to cover what they needed for the funeral. Tyler's mother had bought the shop's entire stock of them, so he figured the crisis had been averted. He tuned her out and leaned back in his seat, gazing out the limousine window as they drove by the shops downtown.

"You're not listening to me." His mother said with a frustrated tone.

"I'm listening. The flower shop delivered pink roses which almost ruined dad's funeral." Tyler retorted sarcastically.

His mother glared at him and continued in a haughty voice "I asked if you had prepared something to say today. Perhaps reading a poem or a passage from one of your father's favorite novels?"

"No, I haven't prepared anything." Tyler answered with a defiant look on his face. "I didn't think there would be time for me to say something, with everything that you planned for the service."

"I haven't planned that much. I did invite the governor to speak, since he and your father talked often. I thought it would be nice for the citizens of Mystic Falls to share their fond memories of him. He was the town's mayor."

Tyler rolled his eyes and remained silent in response. That his father kept getting re-elected as Mayor had nothing to do with his winning personality, but rather because he was the head of the wealthiest founding family in Mystic Falls. Tyler wasn't sure how many fond memories his mother was expecting from the crowd, but he hoped her expectations weren't too high. At least they could almost guarantee that the women his father flirted with regularly would at least say something.

Tyler noticed that they were approaching the woods and therefore were almost at the cemetery. He could already see the cars being lined up directed by the funeral attendants, and he started to tense up. They had elected to not have a ceremony in the church before the burial since there wasn't a church in Mystic Falls who could contain all the townspeople. Instead they planned on just committal services.

The limo passed the hearse that had carried his father's casket from the mortuary to the cemetery. Tyler turned his head away, refusing to even look at it. His mother seemed to be thinking the same thing, since her eyes remained glued to the shiny silver clutch she was carrying. A moment later the limo came to a stop and the driver opened the door to let Tyler and his mother out.

Everyone appeared to have arrived before them. Familiar faces stared at the mother and son duo with pity as they made their way over to the section of the cemetery where the Lockwoods were traditionally buried. Tyler could see his friends huddled together on one side and he desperately wanted to go over and join them. He wanted to be anywhere but here, and he wanted this to be already behind him.

Elena Gilbert was the first person he noticed in the group. She was flanked on either side by a Salvatore brother, both glancing down at her with different expressions on their faces. Stefan looked worried, and Tyler watched as he leaned further into Elena, as if he were offering her comfort and protection with his presence. Damon looked concerned as well, but also a little mischievous, as he nudged Elena playfully, causing her to look up at him in amusement. Tyler hadn't noticed until now, but it was obvious that both brothers were smitten by her.

Elena's focus seemed to be more on her brother though, who appeared to be trying to look everywhere else but at her. Jeremy didn't look happy to be there, as he stood with his aunt and history teacher on the other side of Damon. Tyler was surprised that Jeremy hadn't used his recent suicidal experience to get out of going to the funeral, because Tyler was sure it would have worked. To Tyler, that meant that Jeremy actually wanted to come, despite what his facial expression would suggest.

The uneasy truce between them was complicated, but Tyler couldn't help but be grateful that the one guy who may have any inkling about how Tyler was feeling right now was there. Jeremy had lost his parents the previous year. He had also witnessed Tyler's discomfort at watching his father hit on the Asian woman at the grill, and had also been there when his father had acted like an ass outside the career fair. They weren't exactly friends, but they weren't as hostile as they used to be either.

On Stefan's side, Matt was chatting quietly with Bonnie. Tyler was relieved to see Matt there, since his friend had been relatively absent since the car accident. He should've known that Matt would come through for him though, despite the recent strain on their friendship. That was just the sort of guy Matt was.

Judging by the dismal expressions on both Matt and Bonnie's faces, Tyler would guess that they were discussing their own recent losses. Losing a family member had become a commonality between the members of their group in the recent years. This cemetery had seen far too many funerals lately. He was glad that Matt had someone to talk with about losing his sister, someone who could understand what he was going through.

Tyler knew that it was hypocritical to expect Matt to be there for him, when he himself had been a poor friend after Vicki's death. It was just too hard to explain to Matt how guilty and messed up he felt after hearing the news. It was no secret he hadn't treated her well. He had cared about Vicki though, even if no one would believe it.

Tyler couldn't explain to Matt why he had freaked out on him either. Nor explain why he sometimes went into fits of rage and why he had crashed the car. There was a great big divide between them, filled with things Tyler couldn't explain and Matt didn't want to deal with. Tyler had sometimes felt that it was easier to talk to his best friend's girlfriend than to his best friend.

Caroline and the sheriff were standing next to Bonnie at the end of the group. It was rare to see Sheriff Forbes in a dress and on any other day Tyler might have made a comment to Matt about her nice set of legs. A genetic trait Caroline had seemed to inherit from her mother.

Caroline looked healthier than when he saw her last. She still looked pale, which was only accentuated by her black dress and cardigan, but she looked less tired than she had before. Caroline didn't seem to notice his approach; she was busy staring at Matt with an odd expression on her face.

The morning after Caroline had brought over lasagna, Tyler had woken up to find her missing from the couch. It was unusual that he had not felt her leaving, since his body could detect the smallest movements from others lately. Tyler had worried about her whereabouts until he checked his phone and found a text from her explaining that she had to leave early to meet Bonnie for breakfast.

Tyler hadn't seen her in the three days since then but they had kept in contact through a series of text messages. The time spent prepping for the funeral and the reception afterward had made the days long, but a text with one of Caroline's snarky one-liners usually broke the depressing monotony that had been his existence since Founder's Day.

As Tyler continued making his way towards the plot, Caroline turned her blue-eyed gaze from Matt to him. Their eyes connected and the look they shared was intense. Her face was open, not hiding any emotion from him. Tyler could read the compassion and concern in Caroline's eyes, and how much she wanted to make everything better for him. He was relieved that he didn't find any pity there; the last thing he wanted from Caroline was pity.

Tyler was forced to look away when he and his mother reached the freshly dug gravesite where they would soon bury his father. His distant relatives had crowded the nearest side of the grave, forcing them to stand in front of his friends on the opposite side. The pastor that would be officiating over the funeral had arrived before them and looked like he was just waiting for everyone to get settled in so he could start. When the last people had made their way from the cars over to the grave site a hush came over the crowd as the service began.

"We are gathered here to say farewell to a beloved member of the community and to commit him into the hands of God"

The pastor continued but his words were drowned out by Tyler's inner mental turmoil. Years of attending formal dinners and boring parties had provided Tyler the necessary skills to school his face into an expression of concentration. No one would have guessed that he wasn't paying attention.

"The mayor was a great man. When we spoke he would always say how much he valued the community he served and how much respect he had for the citizens of Mystic Falls"

Tyler only picked up snippets of what was being said. Everything moved in a haze, like he was stuck in a perpetual dream. He barely heard the governor's eulogy, only noting that the speech wasn't remotely personal. Tyler doubted that the governor knew his father very well, despite the many phone conversations they had, or even considered his father to be a friend.

Tyler had been correct about the women that his father flirted with, speaking up with fond memories of him. It took great restraint on Tyler's part to not look at his mother to see how she felt about their excessively warm thoughts on her husband. What was surprising is that the most heartfelt words spoken about his father had come from the sheriff.

"Richard cared deeply for Mystic Falls and appreciated greatly the responsibility that came with the being mayor. He would have given his life to protect this town and the people who call it home."

His mother and Mrs. Forbes had never been truly friends, but it was the sheriff's speech that had brought her to tears. The sheriff went on to list his father's great accomplishments, first as a mayor and then a person. Tyler had never known that his father had won a medal at a state swim meet, or that everyone on his high school football team looked up to him. Tyler had always felt that his father was a bit of a stranger to him, that there were things that his father would never share. He was disturbed though to see how little knowledge he had of someone he'd known all his life. Two men, who he recognized as former employees of his father, started passing out the white roses that his mother was so insistent on getting.

"For those that would like to do so, you may come up one at a time to lay a rose on the casket and say your final farewells."

Tyler and his mother were gestured to go first, since it was customary for the immediate family members. Tyler dropped the rose on the casket as if it had burned him, refusing to glance more than a brief moment at the ornate casket that housed his father's body. His mother took several moments longer, but Tyler wouldn't leave her side until she was done.

One by one people came up and laid their white rose on his father's casket. There were so many people present that the casket looked weighted down with the flowers. Some just placed the rose; others took a short pause before proceeding on. Almost everyone stopped to look at Tyler and his mother as they went by.

When everyone was finished, the casket was slowly lowered into the ground, while everyone stood there and watched. It was a slow process, or maybe the time just seemed to drag for Tyler. Each inch of the journey, his chest felt like it was getting tighter; he could barely breathe. His mother was letting out quiet hiccupping sobs now that made his chest feel even more weighted.

Tyler could no longer keep from staring at the casket as it made its way down. He was transfixed. The world was crashing down onto his shoulders, and Tyler felt like his knees were going to buckle. The realization of the impact of the loss of his father and the fact that he would never see him again, came to him in an instant, causing him to start shaking slightly. He wasn't going to make it.

Just as he felt like his body was going to burst, he felt a small hand grip his own. The contact anchored him and Tyler was able to tear his focus away from the casket finally. A sharp glance to his right revealed that it was Caroline who was gripping his hand tightly, lending him her strength. She looked back at him steadily, communicating silently that they would get through this together.

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Thank you for reading! If you have time, please review and let me know what you think of the story so far .


	3. Chapter 3

Lost In You

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. I just borrow them for some fun.

Spoilers: All of Season 1.

Author's Note: Thank you to the wonderful people who have reviewed! You guys are amazing! This chapter is more plot oriented but I hope you still like it.

Caroline sighed as she looked out one of the many large windows of the Lockwood mansion. The sky had been overcast and dreary all morning, but sheets of rain were coming down now. She was thankful the weather had held at the funeral, when everyone had still been outside. Still, even though she had brought her new umbrella, the rain would most likely ruin her hairdo and make up when she stepped outside. Caroline just hoped that by the time she left the reception with her mother, that the weather would be better.

"It's really coming down out there," Bonnie said in a bored tone of voice, while taking a bite out of her honey-glazed cracker.

Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie were standing together in a corner of the massive room arranged for the reception. They had already filled their plates with food and were now gobbling it up, as they hadn't eaten in days. It was a little embarrassing how quickly the girls had bee-lined it for the snack table. The funeral had been depressing and long, leaving them starved by the time they made it to the mansion.

"Has your mom said how Mrs. Lockwood is doing?" Elena asked Caroline.

"Not really. Mom only complained that Mrs. Lockwood had called her a few dozen times, one of which was to remind her that she couldn't wear her uniform to the funeral." Caroline answered amused.

Bonnie snorted and bits of the cracker she was chewing on flew out of her mouth. "Sorry," Bonnie mumbled embarrassed as she covered her mouth, albeit a little too late.

Caroline continued talking, wearing a disgusted expression on her face. "I actually feel really bad for her. It's no secret that the mayor wanted to hump anything with breasts, but he was still her husband."

"It was sad to see her crying at the funeral. I don't think I've ever seen her cry before." Elena said.

Caroline and Bonnie slightly nodded their heads in agreement. From where she was standing, Caroline wasn't able to see Mrs. Lockwood's face for most of the funeral, but her tense and rigid stature and the occasional slight tremors of her shoulders gave the woman away.

Picking up the toothpick and spearing a tiny gourmet sausage, Caroline inquisitively looked around the reception room. The room was beginning to fill up quite quickly, despite its expansiveness, but she spotted the new widow waiting by the door greeting people as they came in. The woman was smiling and carrying on small talk with each person, giving the first impression that this was one of her frequent social occasions, rather than a funeral reception for her husband.

Caroline could easily recognize how fake Mrs. Lockwood's smiles were, all the way across the room though. Her smile was too forced and the strain was showing at the corners of her mouth. She must have felt Caroline staring at her because she slowly turned her head in Caroline's direction. Their eyes locked, Mrs. Lockwood's shield dropped momentarily, and Caroline could read the grief and loneliness in the woman's gaze.

At that moment, she gleaned an odd insight into Tyler's mother. Mrs. Lockwood wanted to be the best and to have the best, and had thought she had gained it by marrying into the Lockwood family. She had gotten her heart's desire, only to realize that it wasn't all that it was made out to be. Despite her beauty pageant looks and classy personality, Mrs. Lockwood still hadn't been able to keep the attention of her husband. She had friends, but none of them was close enough to her to stand at her side, during her time of grief. Loneliness was emanating from the woman, as she was standing by herself in the crowded room. Suddenly feeling like this was emotionally hitting to close to home, Caroline darted her eyes away.

She spotted Matt making his way towards the group of girls. Caroline saw that he was wearing the same suit that he had worn for Vicki's funeral, which instinctively made her want to hug him. Bonnie and Elena made very unsubtle excuses to leave, in order to allow Matt and Caroline some privacy for their conversation.

"You look nice," Matt said lamely.

"Thanks, you look pretty dapper yourself" Caroline said with false cheer. She had noticed how Matt's eyes had trailed after Bonnie and Elena.

Matt seemed to drag his attention back to her with a renewed vigor. He came closer to her and pulled her soft hand into his own larger one, lacing their fingers together. It wasn't a perfect fit and her fingers started cramping almost immediately. But she wasn't going to say anything or pull away. Matt rarely initiated any public displays of affection, including holding hands.

She wondered if the reason why he was holding her hand now was because he saw her grab Tyler's hand at the funeral. Caroline opened her mouth to explain, but not apologize. She wouldn't apologize for lending his best friend comfort, not when he had so badly needed it.

Standing there, watching Tyler suffer as his father was being lowered into the ground, she couldn't stop herself from going to him. Caroline had only meant to lend comfort and strength by taking his hand, but had ended up experiencing something more intense. The way he looked at her, like she was saving him, no one had ever looked at her like that. It was the first time she could remember being that instinctively connected with another person.

"Matt, if you are worried about me and Tyler, don't be. We were just holding hands because I was offering him support during that rough time." Caroline said trying to soothe any fears that her boyfriend may have.

Matt looked horribly confused and then understanding seemed to dawn on him. "I'm not worried. It's cool," he said nonchalantly.

Caroline looked at him to see if he was lying to her, but he honestly looked like he didn't care. While she was thankful that he wasn't making a big deal out of it, she would have liked her boyfriend to have some reaction over her holding hands with another guy.

"I heard you and Bonnie talking before the funeral, I'm glad to see that she's dealing better with Gram's death." Caroline said.

Matt looked uncomfortable, obviously not wanting to talk about his conversation with Bonnie. Caroline couldn't understand why, since she had heard the whole thing and he knew it. She was trying to give him the opportunity now to talk about it, if he wanted to.

Caroline sighed in frustration. Matt would seek comfort from Elena, talk about his troubles with Bonnie, but he wouldn't do either with his girlfriend. She had thought that if she had just held on that he would eventually learn he could confide in her. It didn't look like that moment was coming anytime soon. Deciding the best way to save the conversation from complete awkwardness, Caroline started a remarkably boring discussion with Matt about something she had learned in science class last year.

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Tyler looked at the multitude of dishes that were scattered across the long table in the center of the reception area. Plates of lobster, caviar, gourmet cheeses, meats, and dips all lended themselves to the sea of color. Tyler had attended enough formal dinners in his lifetime to be familiar with such foods, but that didn't stop him from looking longingly at the kitchen where the lasagna was still stored in the fridge.

"I'm deciding between eating the rodent of the ocean or fish eggs. Which do you think is better?" The sound of Jeremy's voice from behind him jumped Tyler a little.

"The safest option is to stick to the crackers and veggies." Tyler said while loading his plate up with meats. He was not taking his own advice. Tyler knew that, like him, Jeremy had eaten all this stuff before at some dinner party or another, which was probably why Jeremy had ignored his advice as well, by loading his plate up with a little of everything.

"Sorry to hear about your dad, man" Jeremy said, looking quickly over to Tyler.

"Yea, well. Shit happens. Good to see you are still amongst the living," Tyler said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Jeremy looked startled, and then scanned Tyler's face, as if checking for a double meaning. Tyler wasn't sure what he was looking for, but figured he must have found it when Jeremy shot a grin at him. Tyler was a little relieved that the other guy hadn't taken offense to what he had said. He didn't know why, but he decided to push it further.

"Did you mean to do it?" Tyler asked. Both guys had experiences with drugs, and shared a girl who was a junkie. Tyler didn't know if Jeremy had just overdone it a little.

"Yes. And yes, I know it was a total chick move to do it by pills" Jeremy said with a teasing lilt to his voice, but there was an edge to it that warned Tyler that it was not a subject he wanted to discuss further.

Tyler was curious about what had pushed Jeremy to the edge, but he didn't care enough to ignore the subtle warning that had been given to him. It's not as if he and Jeremy were close friends. Tyler also didn't want to discuss his father, having already embarrassed himself by almost breaking down at the funeral. Instead, he struggled to find a subject that didn't expose any of the sore points between the two.

Tyler was saved by a chuckle from further down the table. He looked over and spotted a man in his mid-thirties, heavily muscled, with dark eyes and dark shaggy hair. The guy looked like he had been in his share of fights, sporting scars in several places from what Tyler could see. Irritated that someone had been listening in on their conversation, Tyler couldn't help snapping at the guy.

"Find something funny?" Tyler demanded. It had been a rough day so far and Tyler's patience was at an all time low.

"Nothing. Just getting something to eat." The man said not so innocently. He grabbed a piece of cheese from the platter and popped it into his mouth.

Tyler and Jeremy exchanged looks; neither seemed to know who the guy was. Tyler was going to find out, since he wasn't going to have some random stranger crashing the reception of his father's funeral. The mystery man didn't give them the chance though, when he started to speak again.

"I heard it's going to be a beautiful night. When the moon is half-full, like it will be tonight, it almost looks like the sky is grinning. Don't you think? You boys have a good evening," and with that, the guy walked off.

Something about the man inexplicitly bothered Tyler, something that he instinctively felt within his bones. The acute sensory awareness he had been feeling lately was alerting him to the fact that something was off about the guy. Jeremy didn't look like he felt it, having already gone back to munching his food. Tyler looked back at the direction the guy had gone, and decided to follow him. He wasn't going to have some strange man wandering around his family home.

Without saying anything more to Jeremy, Tyler left the table to investigate this ominous feeling he was experiencing with the stranger. He quietly rounded the corner into the hallway between the reception room and his father's office, but found the area surprisingly vacant. The only sounds that Tyler heard were those of guests fetching their coats in the front vestibule before leaving. He hadn't even noticed that it was starting to get late.

Tyler had only ventured halfway down the hallway, when he picked up the faint sound of his mother's voice coming from the office. He stopped when he heard other voices join hers. It appeared as if Damon Salvatore and the Sheriff were in the office as well. His curiosity got the better of him, and he quietly moved closer to listen in.

"With John in the hospital and the mayor dead, we have to wonder if someone is targeting council members." The sheriff said worriedly.

"Why are we even talking about this now, it's my husband's funeral!" His mother exclaimed. Tyler almost charged into the room after hearing the pain in her voice, but his need for knowledge kept him from interrupting.

"The best way to show respect for Richard is to honor his work. He wouldn't have wanted us to put off this discussion for any reason. Our families could be in danger." The sheriff said, obviously determined to continue.

Tyler wondered what the families had to fear. It had to be something so powerful that it caused his father and several other bystanders on Founder's Day to be killed. He felt a sudden rage that his mother knew what had killed his father, but had kept it from him. It also struck him that his father must have known that something bad was going to happen, by the way that he was trying so hard to get Caroline and him to leave the grill that night. It had never occurred to Tyler before that his father had said "you two", as if the only concern would be the two of them, and Matt was just an afterthought.

"Anything that could have targeted them was down during the time when they were hurt." Damon said. It seemed as if he was trying to curb what he was saying, as if Damon knew that Tyler was listening into the conversation.

"Not when John was stabbed." The sheriff pointed out.

"So you think whoever tried to kill John is going to go after our families next?" His mother asked worried.

"I don't know. It's best to keep a close eye on the children until we know for sure what is behind this. There was another thing we should discuss." The sheriff continued on.

"Another thing?" Damon sounded intrigued at this point.

"The local news stations were recording the events during the celebrations and managed to pick up something interesting from the time period that the device was on. I can play it back for you."

"I'd rather talk about the threat to our families, than whatever you found on the tapes." His mother said, in her no nonsense tone of voice.

"I'm concerned about that too, but we don't have any further leads at the moment. We might however, have a weapon we can use again." The sheriff said, still refusing to let the subject drop.

"This is all great and intriguing, but I can't leave my brother very much longer. It's getting late." Damon said, now sounding like he was in a hurry to leave.

"That's understandable, I'll talk to you about it tomorrow. Stay safe." The sheriff said, with a concerned tone.

Tyler hid under the stairwell as Damon exited the room, relieved when it didn't look like the guy had noticed him. Tyler crept back to his previous position to pick up on any further conversation going on. He didn't think he missed anything since it was quiet in the room.

"Just give me a second, your video player is very complicated" The sheriff said. Tyler could tell that she was starting to get frustrated with both the video and his mother's demands to return to the topic of the threat.

Something in him warned him that he should leave, that whatever was on the tape couldn't be very good, but he resisted the urge to pull away. Tyler dropped to his knees the second he heard that terrible screeching noise again. The first time, it seemed like the sound was everywhere, like a speaker system had been set up with a direct link to his brain. The pain had been unbearable. This was milder than that, but extremely painful nevertheless.

It took everything in him not to cry out, not to give himself away to the people in the room. All Tyler could do was grit his teeth and ride it out. He knew that the sound would go away eventually.

Tyler was relieved when the sound stopped not too long after it started, the sheriff obviously having gotten her point across. He barely heard her say that they needed to think about what this could mean and set up a time to meet later. Both women strolled into the hallway, oblivious to the fact that they had been annihilating his eardrums.

Once again he hid, but this time his movements were far from graceful. The sound had woken something in his body and he felt strange sensations all over. The light hurt his eyes, so he kept them squeezed shut, willing everything to go back to normal. He would just stay there, mentally curled up into himself, until they did.

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"Tyler, there you are. Have you seen my mother?" Caroline called out to Tyler as she rounded the corner into the hallway. He didn't look at her, just continued sitting on the stairs with his arms wrapped around his head. She figured he was hiding, since it took a lot of effort on her part to even find him in the first place.

"Tyler?" Caroline asked, with a worried tone to her voice. She noticed his quickened breathing  
and he still hadn't acknowledged that she was there.

"Talk to me" Caroline demanded, but with a concerned tone of voice. Her heels made tapping noises on the hardwood floor as she crossed the distance between them. She tried tugging at his arms that were wrapped around his head, but he was resisting her.

"Go away Caroline" Tyler growled.

"No, I'm not leaving you. So you'd better just tell me what's wrong. Is this about your dad?" Caroline said. She wasn't budging. Caroline wasn't surprised that Tyler was hiding his grief about his father, since she knew guys could be overly sensitive about showing any emotions.

"I said go. You don't want to be near me right now" Tyler said, his voice raising.

"I told you, I'm not going anywhere." Caroline said frustrated.

Not giving a thought to the stupidity of her actions, Caroline simultaneously stomped on his foot and tugged on his arm with all her strength. It had originally seemed like a good idea, but it occurred to her now that this might not be the best way to break through this impenetrable shell he had built around himself. Surprisingly, it did accomplish her goal. Tyler cursed and flung himself up off the stairs, forgetting to keep his eyes closed.

"Holy crap!" Caroline let out an exclamation in surprise, riveted by the golden orange eyes staring back at her from Tyler's face.

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As always, thank you for reading! I hope this was worth the wait. Please take the time to let me know what you think. :)


	4. Chapter 4

Lost In You

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. I just borrow them for some fun.

Spoilers: All of Season 1. Also if you haven't figured out what Tyler's connection to the moon is you may want to stop reading at this point.

Author's Note: I know it has been forever since I updated, and I hope that this chapter was worth the wait. Those of you that have reviewed are awesome! You really keep me excited to continue writing this. Thank you!

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Caroline wished that she worked out more, as she hauled whatever medical books she could find over to a table at the corner of the town's library. She knew that some may be surprised to see her there, but with all her activities that she participated in, Caroline had to use the library for resources from time to time. She knew her way well around the slightly dusty shelves and long wooden tables, and therefore had chosen a location in the library that would afford her the greatest amount of privacy as she tried to find out what was going on with Tyler.

Caroline's common sense, combined with her love of Grey's Anatomy, told her that there had to be something really wrong with Tyler, for him to have yellow and orange eyes. She had spent a great deal of time last night trying to convince him to go to the hospital, but he had refused to go. No amount of pushing or prodding on her part had changed his mind. She was really worried about him.

She didn't blame Tyler for the accident, he was obviously in great pain when he swerved the car, but last night was the second time he had shown some strange symptoms, so Caroline was giving up until she found out what was going on with him. She wouldn't be able to get Tyler to go see a doctor until she could prove to him that his symptoms were severe enough to go.

Some part of Caroline, deep within her subconscious, was nagging at her. It kept pointing out the strangeness of the situation and what she had seen, and making her think about impossible things. She squashed those thoughts though, even if something seemed familiar, something was still buried. She had obviously been reading Twilight too much, and this was too serious for her to let herself indulge in fantasy.

After skimming through the pages of what she was reading, something about yellow eyes caught Caroline's attention. It would explain all of Tyler's symptoms. Taking the other books with her just in case, Caroline quickly hurried to check out, so that she could get over to the Lockwood mansion.

When Caroline stepped outside of the library, there was a nice warm dry heat awaiting her, the humidity having broken after last night's rain storm. The sunny day did wonders for her mood, easing some of the worry and stress that had plagued her since witnessing Tyler's strange eyes and obvious pain the previous evening.

So caught up in her thoughts, Caroline didn't even notice Matt coming towards her, and had almost passed him when he called out to her.

"Hey Matt" Caroline said, feeling guilty that she hadn't noticed him there.

"What are you doing at the library?" Matt asked, a confused expression on his face. Caroline must have looked hurt since he continued, "I just didn't expect to find you here."

"Research for something" Caroline answered vaguely. At Matt's dubious expression she continued defensively, "I've been to the library before. "

"I know, but you have to admit it isn't the first place people would look for you. Are those medical books?"

Caroline clutched the books tighter, not wanting Matt to get a closer look. She didn't feel right about sharing with Matt about Tyler, even if he was his friend.

"Yes, I'm thinking about becoming a nurse someday." Caroline lied.

"A nurse?" Matt looked even more uncertain.

"Yes, a nurse. I think I would be good at it." Caroline answered.

Matt didn't say anything, but it was obvious from his facial expression that he didn't agree with her. Caroline had no intention of becoming a nurse, though Matt didn't know that. Still she was hurt that he found the idea so outrageous.

She wondered how Matt saw her, and if he would always view her as this selfish, shallow person. Caroline knew that she wasn't as deep as some other people, but she had been trying to improve in that area. She had thought that he noticed. Caroline felt the weight of her insecurities about herself and their relationship increasing, and wanted nothing more than to go home and pig out on a bucket of ice cream. She was tired of feeling this way.

The weight of the books reminded her of her original purpose for going to the library. She was eager to get the books to her car and to not be holding them anymore. Caroline still hadn't gotten her full strength back and the medical encyclopedias weren't light. She also had some things to think about and needed some space from Matt to do it.

"I have to get going, I'll give you a call later?" Caroline asked.

"Sure. We haven't hung out much lately. Want to come over tomorrow night?" Matt asked. Accepting Caroline's nod as a sign of agreement, he bent down to kiss her on the cheek absently, before continuing up the stairs of the library. Caroline waited for the sweet pleasure that she used to get from his kisses, but nothing came.

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Tyler was pacing like a caged animal around his house. His mother had left to go do errands, leaving him to watch over the clean-up crew. For some reason she was sure that they would try to steal something despite his arguments that they wouldn't. Tyler needed to be outside. He was fine until it was mandatory that he stay indoors, and then everything in him rebelled at the idea of being confined. It was the worst cabin fever he had ever felt.

What Tyler wanted to do was go for a run. He ached to stretch his long limbs and breathe in the fresh air. Nothing was worth this torture. Tyler didn't believe that the crew needed to be watched over that closely, knowing that his mother would do a check for missing items whether he was there or not. Tyler gave up on trying to stay indoors, deciding it was worth the punishment from his mother. It only took a few minutes to get changed into a muscle tee, sneakers, and some shorts, and to head outside.

Tyler burst through the back doors leading out to the patio, basking in the sunshine and savoring the immediate sense of freedom that was rushing through his body. The rich smell of the outdoors assaulted his senses and Tyler fought the urge to roll around in the freshly cut grass. He was stretching his muscles, getting ready to take off down the street for a jog, when he noticed Caroline's car pulling into the mansion's long gravel driveway.

She got out of the car, dragging something heavy with her, and looked to be struggling under the weight of whatever it was. Tyler raced over to help her and noticed that it was a set of massive books that she was carrying.

"A little light summer reading, Forbes?" Tyler teased, slightly perplexed with her purpose for coming to his home with books.

"We need to talk." Caroline ignored his question, seeming to prefer to get straight to the point of her visit.

Tyler reached for the books that she was carrying and was startled to find an assortment of medical titles amongst what he was grabbed. At his questioning gaze, she just looked him directly and the eye and explained.

"I think you have a liver disease."

Tyler would have burst out laughing if she hadn't looked so serious. Still, he couldn't keep the amused grin from his face.

"This isn't funny Tyler! We haven't really talked about the night of the car crash, but you were obviously in physical pain in the car. Last night I found you half huddled up in the stairwell and your eyes…" Caroline trailed off, seeming uncertain how to verbalize what she saw.

"My eyes what?" Tyler demanded, not finding this as amusing as before. He wanted to know what she had seen; if some physical sign had betrayed the inner changes he was feeling.

"Your eyes were orange. I've never seen anything like it. It was almost as if they weren't …"

"Human?" Tyler answered. He looked away from her so she wouldn't see his pondering facial expression, using the opportunity to put the medical encyclopedias down. Tyler eased himself onto the front steps, not moving at all even when Caroline sat down beside him.

"I'm sure there's a medical explanation. You should really see a doctor Tyler." Caroline said softly, not seeming any more eager than he was, to return to last night's debate about whether he should go to the hospital or not. He thought he had made himself clear on that issue.

"I'm not going to go see a doctor, because I don't think a doctor can fix whatever is wrong with me. The night of the accident I went to the E.R. with you. The doctors didn't find anything wrong then."

"Then we'll get a second opinion, or a third. We'll find out what's going on." Caroline said, her tone now having a slight desperate quality to it in her attempt to convince him.

"Caroline, I'm not going." Tyler said, his tone of voice leaving no more room for discussion.

Caroline looked like she was still going to push it, but something in his facial expression must have silenced her. He appreciated her concern, especially since she was one of the only people who showed any lately, but there was no way that he could convey what was going on with him. No way he could make her understand how he knew that a doctor wouldn't be able to help him.

Tyler and Caroline continued to sit next to each other and soon the awkward silence developed into a more comfortable one. The last few days had been hectic and eventful, and Tyler was enjoying the peace and the company. He was so wrapped up in the silence that it startled him when she broke it.

"If I told you I wanted to be a nurse someday, what would you say?" Caroline said nonchalantly, without looking at him.

"You want to be a nurse?" Tyler questioned.

"Just answer the question Tyler." Caroline finally looked at him, frustration written all over her delicate features.

"I think that I've never seen you fail at anything you wanted to do, so if you want to be a nurse, you'd be a great one. Does this mean I get to see you in a naughty nurses' uniform?" Tyler asked, grinning as she smacked him lightly on the arm.

"Tyler!" Caroline said laughing.

"What? You're hot! Any patient that you treat that's a guy is going to be thinking the same thing." Tyler defended himself.

Caroline still had a wide smile on her face, even as she scolded him. Her pretty face was glowing now and he didn't think he had ever seen her look more beautiful. Between the sunny day, the rush of freedom that came from being outdoors, and her presence, Tyler was feeling incredibly happy despite all that had been going on lately.

He was about to ask her what made her ask about the nurses thing, when he noticed a shadow in the woods. Tyler looked more closely and could make out the features of the mystery man from the other night. The guy just looked at him and then disappeared back into the forest, almost daring Tyler to follow him.

"Wait here!" Tyler said harshly, ready to take the man up on his challenge.

"Tyler! Where are you going?" Caroline yelled after him as he darted across the lawn and into the thick mass of trees.

By the time Tyler reached the edge of the tree line, the man had already disappeared. Tyler wasn't going to give up though, he wanted answers and he was going to get them.

"I know you're here." Tyler yelled out.

He heard a deep chuckle and then spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Not thinking twice, Tyler raced off after him. He could see the back of the man now, the guy almost moving playfully ahead of him. Tyler wasn't feeling as jovial; his pace was more determined than his counterpart.

While a part of him was frustrated at having to track the man down, there was something about the thrill of the chase that was sending eager shivers up his spine. His brain said to be wary of where this man was leading him, but it was like he couldn't stop himself from pursuing.

Tyler suddenly lost track of the dark haired stranger and stopped in his confusion. He couldn't see any signs of where the man had gone or how he had lost him. Whipping his head around, he didn't notice the other presence until it was too late.

Tyler hit the ground hard, his head still reeling from the blow to it. He rolled to his knees and then back to standing, just in time to dodge another strike. Tyler was uneasy at the feeling that if the man had really wanted to hit him, that he wouldn't have missed. The man's deep laughter at his expense only fueled Tyler's anger.

"What the hell? Who are you?" Tyler demanded.

"I'm a friend of the family" The guy returned, not seeming to care that Tyler was irritated with him.

"I've never seen you before. What is your name?"

"Garrick." The man returned casually.

"No last name? And what kind of name is Garrick?" Tyler retorted, still not ready to calm down.

"It's just Garrick, and you'd have to take the name up with those that named me." Garrick returned with laughter in his voice.

"Okay Garrick with no last name, haven't you heard that it's creepy to be lurking on people's property? What were you even doing?"

"What I was doing is none your concern."

"It is my concern since that's my property. I don't want you to step foot on it again." Tyler said with a firm voice. He was the man of the house now. He wouldn't let anyone, even those who claimed to be a friend of the family, just run around out back of his house.

"What? Are you afraid of something I'm going to see or hear? Private chats between you and your girlfriend? Congratulations, she's quite a looker you know. Maybe I should present her with a better option?" Garrick returned, still not seeming to take Tyler seriously.

"What you will do is leave her alone." Tyler was close to fuming now. "If I find that you've gone anywhere near her I'll…"

"You'll do what?" Garrick cut in. "You haven't even turned yet, and you think you could take me on?"

"Turned?" Tyler questioned.

"You don't even know what you are. This is priceless" The taller man belted out in laughter at this.

"Well then tell me! What am I?" Tyler roared.

"What walks on four legs, loves a good chase, and howls at the moon?" Garrick said smiling, seeming pleased that he was the one to fill Tyler in.

Something clicked inside Tyler, a knowing of sorts. He knew what the answer was and something sounded so right about it. He couldn't explain it but he knew Garrick was telling the truth, even if he wished he wasn't.

"I'm a werewolf." Tyler said. No question in his voice.

"Yep." Garrick answered in a gleeful tone.

"And you're one too" Tyler said, again not questioning.

"Welcome to the pack."

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Thank you for reading! If you have time to review, please do so and let me know what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

Lost In You

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. I just borrow them for some fun.

Spoilers: All of Season 1. Also if you haven't figured out what Tyler's connection to the moon is you may want to stop reading at this point.

Author's Note: Here's another chapter. Hope you like it! Once again, your reviews are lovely and keep me writing. I really appreciate it.

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Caroline couldn't believe that she was trekking through the woods with her new shoes on. Since this hadn't been in any of her plans for the day, she wasn't properly attired for any excursions in the wilderness. Granted it was just the woods behind the Lockwood Mansion, but her cute new wedges were getting dirty nonetheless.

She wasn't sure what caused Tyler to race off into the woods, but with all that he had been facing lately, she wasn't going to leave him alone out there. It was an easy decision to ignore his demand that she stay by the porch. She wasn't fond of being told what to do and her concern for him was greater than his macho need to go gallivanting around the great outdoors alone.

"Tyler!" Caroline called out, not having spotted him yet. "Tyler!"

The forest surrounding Mystic Falls wasn't very dense, so she could see pretty far in front of her, despite the fact that the tree tops blocked out a lot of the sun. Caroline had no idea how she hadn't come across Tyler yet, since it felt like she had been walking for a while now. She checked her phone to make sure that she still had signal in case she needed help, and gave an annoyed sigh when she realized she didn't.

She was greatly relieved when she spotted the navy blue muscle tee he had been wearing and the flash of white sneakers. Caroline started to call out to Tyler again, but stopped when his face came into view. His skin looked like it had been drained of all color, and his eyes had a glazed expression to them. She hadn't seen him look this bad since the funeral.

Caroline swore softly to herself as she raced over to him, ignoring the splatter of mud that landed on her shin after she stepped in a puddle. Tyler looked awful, and she wondered if he was experiencing the same pain symptoms as last night. She hoped he would listen to her now about seeing a doctor.

Not knowing what to do, Caroline put her arms around him, hoping to soothe away some of the ache. "It's ok, let's get you back to the house." She spoke softly to him.

This seemed to have gotten his attention, since he turned his head to look at her. "Caroline?"

"Yep, it's me." Caroline said, tugging on his arm now, to lead him out of the woods. She couldn't stop a sound of frustration escaping from her when he stopped.

"What are you doing here? I thought I told you to wait at my house." Tyler asked harshly.

Caroline would have marveled at how quickly the color came back to his cheeks if she wasn't so annoyed with his aggressive attitude. She put her hands on her hips, making sure that he knew she meant business. "Tyler, I found you practically curled up in staircase last night, so drop the macho attitude. You might think you're fine, but perfectly healthy people don't experience pain so badly that they crash cars. Healthy people don't race off into the woods like they are crazy. You may want to play explorer, but I'm not leaving you out here in case something happens."

"Has anyone ever told you, you talk too much?" Was Tyler's only response, nothing about his stance showing that he had heard anything she just said.

Caroline stamped her foot in frustration, and stalked off towards the direction of the mansion. She heard Tyler calling out to her, but decided to ignore him and his ungrateful attitude. The leaves of the trees and branches slapped her in the face, causing her to curse at the idiocy of a particular member of the Lockwood family who caused her to be out here in the first place.

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"Caroline, wait!" Tyler yelled out to Caroline's retreating back. He didn't understand girls. He asked for her to stay where she was for her protection, and she was making it seem like he was being an ass for telling her to do so.

While Tyler admired the rear view of Caroline that he was presented with, he wasn't going to try and talk with her without being face to face. He wasn't sure what he was going to give her as an explanation for his behavior, having only had a few minutes to process the new information himself.

Garrick had just sauntered off into the woods after dropping his werewolf bombshell, calling out that he would be in touch. Tyler wanted to go after him and demand more answers, but wasn't sure if he wanted to spend anymore time with the man who still remained a mystery to him. He had thought that he would have the whole walk home to figure out what to tell Caroline, and was surprised to find her wandering about the woods.

Tyler hadn't meant to be short with her, but he wasn't sure what Garrick was up to, lurking outside his house in the woods, or if he had been responsible for all the recent deaths in Mystic Falls. Tyler didn't want Caroline out here by herself while Garrick was around, especially not after his comment about presenting her with a better option. Tyler admired her fierce determination, but she just didn't realize how vulnerable she was.

"Caroline, wait up!" Tyler said, his voice tired and weary. He was still adjusting to the shock of what he was, he didn't want to be fighting with her too.

Something in his voice must have stopped her, and she turned around. She still didn't look pleased with him. Tyler tried not to notice how her crossed arms pushed her breasts out more, instead he worked on coaxing her to not stay angry with him.

"Caroline, it's not that I don't appreciate your concern, but it can be dangerous out here." Tyler said, wanting her to understand.

"Dangerous?"

Tyler sighed, then continued. "There's things, people out here, and I'm not sure what their intentions are yet. You are still recovering from an accident, it would be better if you stayed away from the woods for a while."

"Tyler, what are you talking about?" Caroline asked. She looked less ticked off and more curious now.

He didn't know how much more he wanted to say. Tyler had promised himself after their movie night that he wouldn't tell her anything that he found out about Mystic Falls and its secrets, if he thought it would put her in harm's way. He just wasn't sure what he could keep from her after all that she'd seen.

She must have noticed his hesitation because Caroline softened her stance and tone. "Tyler, whatever it is, you can tell me. I promise I won't tell anyone."

Tyler knew that she wouldn't. Caroline may have the crown as gossip queen at their high school, but all that was harmless information. He didn't know why, but he was sure that she would protect his secret. Tyler just didn't know if he wanted to burden her with it though. He looked down into her pretty blue eyes and felt the need to tell someone what he learned, and to tell her. The question would be whether Caroline believed what he told her.

"Ever since the night of the crash, I've been feeling different, strange. My hearing has gotten better, I can hear movement clear across my house. I feel faster, stronger, like I have this constant source of energy."

He could see that she was confused, not knowing where he was going with this. "You remember when I beat up Matt? Do you remember all those other fights I've gotten into? They've all happened during full moons."

"What are you saying Tyler? It sounds like you're trying to tell me you are a werewolf or something." Caroline laughed, tension cutting it short.

"I am." Tyler said, slipping his hands into his short pockets and shrugging. She looked up at his face, most likely looking for any signs that he was joking.

"Tyler, you can't be a werewolf. They aren't real." Caroline explained patiently.

"Are you sure about that Forbes? You said it yourself that my eyes weren't human the other night." Tyler said. He knew that he had her there, her face now taking on a pondering expression.

"Ok, for the sake of argument, let's say that you are. What does that have to do with you racing off into the woods and why it's dangerous."

Tyler proceeded to tell her about his run in with Garrick at the funeral and in the woods. He also told her about all the recent deaths in the area and how he was trying to figure out the cause. Caroline must have decided she believed him, since she started asking him all these questions that he didn't have the answers to. She seemed to think that it was odd that he hadn't done any research yet.

"Exactly how was I supposed to do that Forbes? I don't even know where to begin! Unless of course your medical textbooks are going to tell me about the changing process of a werewolf?" Tyler replied frustrated.

"Don't even go there about the books I brought for you. How was I supposed to know about your crazy full moon connection and hairy toes?" Caroline huffed.

"Hairy toes?" Tyler laughed.

"Well I'm assuming that you'll get all hairy once a month." Caroline said with a disgusted expression on her face.

Tyler just laughed harder, even though part of him was sickened at the idea of changing into another creature. He was so glad he told her, because suddenly it didn't seem so serious. They walked together back to the mansion, her chatting the whole way about different resources for information.

"You know we could always just Google the information? Or Bing it?" Caroline said, looking up into Tyler's smiling face.

"Any sites that we came across would be hardly credible Caroline. Most of them probably dedicated to that wolf guy from Twilight." Tyler snorted.

He couldn't help but laugh at Caroline's outraged face; it looked like someone was a fan of those books. "Ok, we'll search for information online. We'll probably get more stuff there than the library." Tyler said, conceding to her demands on research.

"Yes, no need to go to the library!" Caroline rushed to agree with him. She looked a little sheepish when Tyler shot her a confused look. "I ran into Matt there today, and he didn't seem to think I had ever been to the library before."

"Matt's my bro, but he's an idiot sometimes." Tyler said. He couldn't explain the sudden flare of jealousy when his friend was mentioned, but it died down with the smile she flashed him.

"Matt's a good guy, and I should feel lucky to have him as my boyfriend." Caroline said in a smaller voice.

"Forbes, it's not about feeling lucky. Does he feel lucky to have you?" Tyler asked, really not wanting to carry on this conversation. He didn't understand why she stayed with a guy who was obviously into her friend more than her.

"I don't know. I don't think so" Caroline said, shaking her head. She gave a small thanks as Tyler helped her over a large root, blushing at the feel of his hands on her waist. "But I don't feel lucky either."

"Look, I'm not a relationship expert." Tyler said, and rolled his eyes at Caroline's indelicate snort. "But it seems to me that if you both aren't happy, then maybe you shouldn't be together."

Caroline didn't say anything after that, and the two just walked back to the mansion together, lost in their own thoughts. Tyler was anxious about what they would find on the internet. Caroline's idea seemed like a good one, but he didn't know how he was going to be able to determine what was true and what was false.

When they got to his bedroom, Tyler fought the urge to move the clothes that were scattered on the floor to the laundry bin. It's not like he was trying to impress her, but he wasn't usually this messy. Tyler was glad he didn't though, because he would have missed her comment about "men and pigs" or her amused laughter when he playfully "oinked" in response. It was this sort of banter with Caroline that got him through the days before the funeral, and he was thankful that she was still there now, when his life continued to fall apart.

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Caroline sat down in Tyler's computer chair, sighing as the hot leather stuck to the back of her bare legs. Tyler leaned over her shoulder to look at the screen and she could smell his unique combination of manly musk and pine. She brought up the search engine, typed in "werewolf" and scowled unattractively at the all the Twilight links that were brought up.

"Not one word Lockwood if you know what's good for you." Caroline said, looking over her shoulder at a smirking Tyler.

Even though he was right that most of the information wouldn't be useful to them, she was sure that they would come across something that would help them. Caroline clicked through link after link, most of them dealing with something from pop culture. She could feel Tyler fidgeting behind her in impatience.

"This is getting us no where!" Tyler groaned out in frustration.

An idea came to Caroline quickly. "Have you ever been bitten by a wolf?" Caroline asked.

"Not that I know of, and I'm pretty sure that would be something that I'd remember." Tyler remarked sarcastically, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation.

"Well then it has to be genetic, right? Our families have lived in Mystic Falls for generations, so maybe we should refine our search to werewolves in Virginia?" Caroline remarked, excitedly typing that into the search engine.

This time the search produced a lot more information regarding local folklore, and Caroline eagerly clicked on the first link that came up. She could tell Tyler was pleased as well since he leaned back over her shoulder, eyes glued to the screen.

The link was of an old newspaper article about a wolf-man that had been sited in the woods back in the 1940's. According to the local barber, he had spotted a man changing into a wolf when he had gone hunting one fall afternoon. Before he changed, the man's eyes had flashed a golden orange.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Caroline exclaimed over and over.

"What?" Tyler asked distractedly, he seemed to still be reading.

"You're a werewolf!" Caroline shouted.

"Yea, we've been over this." Tyler's focus now directed on her, a perplexed expression on his face.

"I know, but you're a werewolf! Like howls at the moon, changes form, werewolf!" Caroline said as if he hadn't already understood that.

Caroline felt like she couldn't breathe and got up to pace around the room. She felt like she was going crazy. In the woods it had seemed so simple when he told her, and while she believed that he believed that he was a werewolf, she still had her doubts.

Now though, she couldn't deny that werewolves existed or that Tyler was one. She couldn't forget how Tyler's eyes looked last night, how inhuman they were. Now that this article mentioned the same, she couldn't ignore the connection. What she knew about the world that she lived in had totally changed in under an hour.

Having been caught up with her inner panic, Caroline hadn't noticed Tyler going downstairs and was startled when he came back up with a glass of water. He shoved it briskly in front of her face, his eyes avoiding looking at her.

"Breathe Forbes, and drink this." Tyler said calmly. "I wondered when you were going to freak out."

Caroline glared at him as she sipped slowly on the water, her chest still heaving in her attempt to breathe through the sudden tightness caused by her panic. She didn't know how he was so calm, given his newfound knowledge about himself and what he would change into.

"I'm not freaking out!" At his disbelieving look she continued. "Maybe I am, but this is real Tyler. Werewolves are real! Scary, dangerous, furry, supernatural creatures exist and according to you, are right here in Mystic Falls! I can't calm down when I'm worried one will attack me on my way home!"

There was a thick silence after her outburst. Tyler softly nodded and then crossed the room so that they were standing far apart from each other. Caroline groaned in frustration at her ability to stick her foot in her mouth, she just didn't think before she spoke sometimes. Tyler wouldn't even look at her.

"Tyler, I don't mean you." Caroline said, moving closely to him.

"Why Caroline? What makes you think I won't be dangerous, that I wouldn't hurt people? Or even kill them for that matter?" Tyler said, his face displaying his fear about what he would become.

Caroline moved much closer, so that their bodies were almost touching. "You won't." Caroline said, staring up the short distance to his face.

Their eyes locked, and Caroline could feel him searching hers for assurance. She regretted what she said in her panic. Tyler had his fits of rage, but he never meant them, and he had never killed anyone. Somehow she knew that she was still safe with him, despite his being a werewolf. She hated that he was doubting himself.

Caroline rose up on her toes and softly bumped her forehead to his and then slid her face down to his neck, pulling him tight into her arms. Tyler had faced so much in just a few days time, and she wished that someone up there would give him a break. She was still freaking out about what she had learned, but Tyler didn't need another thing adding to his stress. Caroline wouldn't leave him to face this alone.

She felt Tyler bury his face in her hair and breathe in, his arms forming a strong band around her back. She slowly stroked his back, trying to ease the tension there, doing anything that she could to provide him comfort. She wasn't an expert on the supernatural, but she would help him deal with this any way she could.

"You know" Caroline started. "Jacob, the werewolf from Twilight is always running around shirtless."

Caroline could feel his deep laughter since their bodies were still close together, and was relieved that the muscles in his back and shoulders started to relax.

"Is this your way of hinting that you'd like to see me without a shirt on, Forbes?" Tyler chuckled, as he pulled back away to look down at her face.

"If I'm going to be your sidekick in this werewolf stuff, I should at least get to see you shirtless more." Caroline impishly grinned and stepped back despite not wanting to.

"Does this mean I get to see you shirtless? It's only fair." Tyler bantered with a wide smile on his face.

"In your dreams Lockwood." Caroline snorted, not noticing that Tyler didn't reply.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this chapter. I'm going to try to get another one out before the new season starts, but no promises. Please review if you have time and let me know what you think of it.


	6. Chapter 6

Lost In You

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. I just borrow them for some fun.

Spoilers: All of Season 1. Also if you haven't figured out what Tyler's connection to the moon is you may want to stop reading at this point.

Author's Note: So it's been a long time since I've updated. Sorry! I'll try to do better about updating in the future. Once again, your reviews really are the reason why I've kept at this fic, so please keep them coming. I always enjoy reading what you have to say.

Also, I did a minor flashback in this chapter. It will show up in italics.

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Tyler didn't know when he started expecting Caroline to be on the other side of his door when he answered it, but he had. This time was no different, and he was rewarded by finding the perky blonde cheerleader standing on his front steps with a large pink satchel slung over her arm and sunglasses perched on her pretty face. He glanced at her outfit, noting that bathing-suit straps peeked though the baby blue sundress that she was wearing. Caroline looked cute, and her outfit suggested some plans for swimming later. Tyler also had the distinct feeling that she was here to rope him into coming with her.

He smiled and his thoughts quickly drifted over the all the events of the past two weeks...

Ever since he had discovered his "furry little problem" as Caroline often referred to it, she had been coming up with different ways to distract him from what they both knew was unavoidably coming. Several days after their internet search, which resulted in her minor freak out, he had wandered out onto his patio, discovering Caroline attempting to pitch a purple tent in his back yard.

"_Caroline, what are you doing?" the perplexed Tyler had asked as she only briefly glanced up from her attempt to read the instructions for putting up the tent._

"_As you probably have guessed, I'm not really the kind of girl who camps. But, I'm totally ok with camping in your backyard, which conveniently is only steps away from a clean bathroom and a refrigerator. Plus you said that the scary mystery man is in the woods, so that's another reason to stay away from there." Caroline rambled on, blushing as she picked up a pole and tried to figure out what to do with it. _

_He took pity on her and decided to lend a hand, which ultimately lead to a lot of laughter as they continued to struggle with putting up the tent. When he asked her why she wanted to go camping in the first place, he was warmed by the insightfulness of her response. _

"_You seem happier when you are outside."Caroline had said with a shrug. The look she shot him in that moment made his palms sweat. _

_After they were finally satisfied with the tent up, Tyler had lugged out some old sleeping bags from his garage. With everything necessary set up, they finally relaxed and laid out on the freshly cut grass and watched the sun go down. Tyler found himself smiling, enjoying one of those rare moments of pure contentment. He ordered them some pizza and by the time the stars appeared in the sky, they were busy dining on delicious pizza under the stars._

"_I broke up with Matt," Caroline said casually, as if she was just announcing that she had bought another pair of new shoes._

_Tyler had stopped mid-chew at that. "Oh." Not sure what he was supposed to say but feeling a bit relieved for some reason._

"_It was hard, but I actually had thought it would be harder. He didn't even try to convince me to stay with him." Caroline had shrugged, looking as if she were more put out over his not fighting for her, than the break up itself._

_Tyler was never one to give comfort, so he did what he knew best. "This pizza is good, but it would be better with some beer." _

_Caroline laughed and teased him. "Some of that Lockwood Special?"_

"_Of course!" Tyler said, remembering how much he had wanted to hook up with her on Halloween. He excused himself and headed down to his basement to get some, to prevent himself from doing something stupid such as tell her that. _

_They spent the rest of the evening drinking and playing games. Unfortunately he hadn't been able to convince her to play strip poker with him. It was made better though in the morning when he had woken up to Caroline snuggling close to him for warmth. He would never admit it to her, but he had spent a few minutes watching her sleep and enjoying her closeness, before he had drifted off again. _

His momentary reflection on the past two weeks was abruptly halted, when Caroline slid past him at the doorway and headed to the front room. She had come up with a lot of ideas in the last two weeks to entertain him, and like all the others, he didn't think he'd be able to get out of this one either.

"Where are we going now?" Tyler asked.

"To the swimming hole. It's a beautiful day out and I just got a new swimsuit that I want to wear." Caroline answered, while pushing the sunglasses to the top of her head.

Tyler headed up the stairs to go get his swimming stuff, knowing that there was no use in arguing that he had other plans for the day, such as playing basketball with the guys. He didn't want her to think she could just order him around though, so he purposely moved slowly. Tyler smirked when he could hear her grumbling her impatience.

"Chill Forbes. I'll be down in a moment." Tyler called down stairs to her.

"Hurry up! We don't want the place to get too packed and not have any place to put our towels!" Caroline called back. "I'll go wait in the car."

Tyler didn't think they would have any competition since it was still pretty early in the summer. He still hurried though, knowing he would hear about it for hours if he didn't. He figured right when he saw her sitting in the driver's seat of her car with a cute pout on her face.

"I forgot sunscreen, so we'll have to stop at the store to get some." Caroline said. Tyler wisely didn't say anything about her being the one that was slowing them down now, and just nodded his head as Caroline zoomed off the Lockwood estate.

The convenience store was packed when they reached it, and Tyler lost track of Caroline as she hurried to the back of the store to grab what she needed. Without having anything to do, he sauntered down the aisles, thumbing through the magazines they had there. He was surprised when he came across Jeremy Gilbert browsing the ice cream selections at the cooler.

"Gilbert," Tyler greeted Jeremy with a head bob.

"Here to pick up condoms for your latest conquest?" Jeremy returned, reaching for the cookie dough ice cream.

Tyler snorted, knowing what Caroline would say to both the label and his buying condoms for them. As if she knew he was thinking about her, Caroline snuck up behind him to look over his shoulder.

"Jeremy!" Caroline exclaimed. "Is Elena here?"

"Nope, she's gone shopping with Aunt Jenna." Jeremy said shrugging.

"So you have no plans for the day?" Caroline asked.

Tyler knew where she was going with this, and glared at her to let her know that there was no way that they were inviting Jeremy to come with them. Caroline only rolled her eyes at him and looped her arm with Jeremy's, tugging the teen away from the freezer. Tyler grumbled as he followed behind them.

"Jeremy, you should totally go to the swimming hole with us!" Caroline said excitedly, as she got into line to pay for her sunscreen.

Tyler noticed that Jeremy looked less than thrilled at the idea, and was relieved that it looked like the guy would refuse. Caroline didn't give him a chance to though, and hurried Jeremy outside with instructions to go and change quickly, and then meet them at the swimming hole.

As Tyler got in the car, he asked Caroline with an annoyed tone "What was that all about?"

"What was what all about?" Caroline asked feigning innocence.

"Asking Jeremy to come with us," Tyler said, looking out the window as they left the parking lot.

"You and Jeremy looked like you were getting along better, and I thought it would be good for us to hang out with another person for a change." Caroline said.

"Caroline, you know how I've been lately, and the next full moon is only a couple of days away. This is just a recipe for disaster. We're just going to end up fighting."

"I'll be there to make sure you guys don't, and we don't even know if you'll change at the full moon. That could just be a myth! I know you've been on edge lately Tyler, but that's why we are doing things like this. It will be fun, I promise." Caroline said, smiling over at him.

She looked so happy and excited, he didn't want to argue with her about it. Caroline had been a good friend to him lately, and if she wanted to go swimming with him and Jeremy, he could play nice for a day. That didn't stop him from rolling his eyes though, when she clapped her hands in excitement at his giving in.

Tyler had been right in the fact that the swimming hole was dead, and not a single person was in sight. Caroline just hummed happily as she got her things out of the car and started setting the towels up on the small dirt bank near the water. Tyler followed suit, and got the small Nerf balls out of the bag he packed.

His eyes drifted to Caroline as she slipped her sundress off, revealing a shimmery blue bikini underneath. It wasn't the first time he had seen her in a swim suit, but that didn't stop him from soaking in the sight of her curves now. He noticed the small scar still healing on her upper stomach, and felt the usual rush of guilt that came when he thought of the accident. Caroline must have noticed him staring at it, because she self-consciously crossed her arms over the area to hide the imperfection. Tyler looked away to make her feel better, and took his shirt off to set on his towel.

"How did I know that you would find a way to get me shirtless?" Tyler teased, smirking at her blush.

Caroline reached into her shopping bag to get out the bottle of sunscreen she bought, and handed it to Tyler, while gesturing to her back. Tyler had put sunscreen on a girl before, it was a move he used often in the summer when he was trying to get laid, but this time he stood still just looking dumbfounded at her.

"You know I can't reach all my back . Do you want to hear me complain if I get burnt?" Caroline said, turning around so her back was to him.

"I thought girls were always trying to get tan?" Tyler asked as he put some of the cool lotion in his hand.

"If I actually tanned, I would do that. But I only freckle and burn in the sun." Caroline said and Tyler could hear the pout in her voice.

Tyler thought of how freckly she got in the summer when they were children, and remembered that he had thought it was sort of cute. Still, he moved his hands across her back applying the sunscreen on it. Goosebumps formed on her skin at the temperature of the lotion, and she shivered. Tyler was transfixed by her reaction as he continued to rub the sunscreen in.

"Am I interrupting something?" Tyler heard a voice behind them, turning to see Jeremy smirking at them as he walked into the clearing.

Tyler grunted a denial and then handed the sunscreen back to Caroline, signaling that he was done. She didn't seem to notice anything was up and continued to slowly rub sunscreen all over herself much to both his delight and dismay. Tyler tore his gaze from her and tossed a ball at Jeremy, suddenly needing a distraction.

Jeremy for his part, couldn't stop grinning and Tyler felt the urge to wipe that smirk off his face. The guy was lucky that Tyler was trying to stay cool today, and not to get riled up. He was sure that Caroline wouldn't be pleased if he broke the guy's nose, despite it being the fault of his werewolf rage issues. Tyler wasn't even sure how Jeremy had gotten there so quickly anyways.

"What , did you have swimming trunks on you or something?" Tyler asked as he caught the Nerf football that Jeremy threw at him.

"Nah, I just figured I could swim in the shorts I have on." Jeremy answered with a shrug.

Tyler looked over at Caroline and saw her putting the sunscreen away. He rolled his eyes when he saw her fish a magazine out of her bag and move to lie down on the towel. Tyler didn't understand why girls bothered wearing swimsuits if they weren't going to swim. With that thought in mind, he grinned mischievously at Jeremy before sprinting across the wet sand towards her.

Caroline gasped when his strong forearm banded around her waist and he swung her up into his arms. She lost herself for a moment while she swooned against his considerable strength and the feeling of his warm chest against her skin. That didn't last long, as her body hit the cold water, resulting in her angry shriek.

Tyler couldn't help laughing as he watched her surface sputtering, thigh high in the water himself. He only laughed harder at seeing the furious expression on her face. He noticed that Jeremy had shucked his shirt and shoes, and had an amused grin on his face as he waded in the water towards them.

"Tyler you jerk!" Caroline screeched, standing sopping wet with her hands on her hips.

"Calm down Caroline, you said you wanted to go swimming. Now we are!" Tyler answered flippantly, gesturing around the swimming hole.

"Oh..you.." Caroline was still sputtering and fuming, and couldn't think of a better way to respond than to splash water at the boys in frustration.

"Hey! I didn't do anything! That was all him. " Jeremy held his hands up in surrender.

"Shut up man!" Tyler said, using his arm to fling water towards the younger boy.

This started a war between the three of them, and they took turns splashing and dunking each other. Caroline lost badly, since her slim arms weren't as effective in scooping water as Tyler's and Jeremy's. They were all breathless when the war finally came to a close, and Caroline leaned slightly against Tyler as she tried to regain normal breathing. Tyler unconsciously had wrapped his arm around her while helping keep her up. This didn't escape Jeremy's attention as he shot a knowing look at the both of them.

Caroline detached herself from Tyler and waded out of the water to dry off and take the food out that she had packed. Neither of the boys moved to help her. Instead they stayed in the water floating and enjoying the feeling of the warm sun shining down on them.

"You like her," Jeremy said once Caroline was out of hearing range.

"Who? Caroline? Yea, we're friends now I guess." Tyler said with a shrug of his shoulders, covering up the sudden tenseness in his body.

"You know what I mean. You have a thing for her." Jeremy said looking over to where Caroline was sliding on her clothes.

Tyler looked over as well, and his gaze softened. She looked beautiful in this natural setting. He didn't want to talk about this with Jeremy, but he didn't really have anyone else to talk with anymore. It suddenly occurred to him how few friends he actually had at the moment.

"Look man. I don't know what you think you saw, but Caroline and I aren't like that. She's still getting over her breakup with Matt and we're just friends."

"Yea well, I don't hear you denying your feelings towards her." Jeremy said amused.

"So what if I have a thing for her? Big deal. Nothing can ever come of it. She's my best friend's ex-girlfriend. Dating her would break the bro code on so many levels. Not to mention that right now isn't the best time for me either. There's a lot going on, stuff I couldn't even begin to explain to you, and the last thing Caroline or I need is to start something. It's not like she returns my feelings right?" Tyler questioned looking over at Jeremy.

Jeremy grinned at the question, not wanting to give away quite yet how much he noticed Caroline's gaze lingering on Tyler. "Look if you like her, tell her. If she likes you back then Matt will just have to deal. "

Neither of the guys looked too comfortable with the sharing of feelings, and when Tyler looked over at Caroline, it appeared as if she was listening to music on her ipod, a magazine lying across her stomach. She must have gotten tired of waiting for them to join her. Tyler was getting ready to leave the water when Jeremy decided he wanted to continue the conversation.

"What sort of things are going on that you can't explain?" Jeremy asked without looking at him. Tyler noticed though that his facial expression showed that the question was important.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Tyler said, not sure why he was even willing to share this much.

"Try me" Jeremy said, turning to stand on the shallow end of the swimming hole, body facing Tyler.

Tyler turned to face him, not sure what he was going to say. He just felt like he could trust Jeremy. Right before he could open his mouth to respond though, he noticed Garrick sauntering out into the clearing to the left of the swimming hole.

"You really want to know?" Tyler turned back to gaze at Jeremy.

"Yes!" Jeremy said determinedly, not having caught sight of their intruder yet.

"There's a lot to explain, and I don't have near enough information. But I think that guy does." Tyler said gesturing towards Garrick.

Jeremy turned to see where he was pointing and saw the large man who was now leaning against the tree. Both boys tensed up though when Garrick looked towards Caroline, and began to head towards her oblivious form. Tyler let out a growling noise that he didn't know he could make, ignoring Jeremy's look at the sound. His attention was solely focused on the threat.

"Stay away from her" Tyler yelled out angry. He wanted answers, but not at the expense of Caroline's safety.

"I haven't done anything to blondie… yet!" Garrick laughed in response. The older man chuckled even more when he noticed the blonde ripping the headphones off of her ears in response to the yelling.

"I said stay away. " Tyler yelled. "You aren't welcome here."

Garrick and Tyler eyes locked and a staring contest started. Neither male was willing to look away first. Tyler didn't know why it was important that he didn't break the older man's gaze, but something deep within him, some instinct, demanded that he didn't. To his surprise, Garrick shifted his eyes away first. A feeling of triumph rose within Tyler.

"Go away. Whatever you're up to, do it elsewhere." Tyler said. He was physically shorter than the other man, and despite his broad chest and large arms, not as bulky either. Still, he felt powerful. Tyler would not let this man near them, especially not near Caroline, who at the moment was looking at him confused.

"I'll be talking with you soon boy." Garrick said, as he took his time heading back into the woods. Tyler breathed out a sigh in relief, exiting the water in case the guy changed his mind and came back. Caroline seemed to sense his tenseness because she sent him a soothing smile.

"What was that about?" Jeremy asked from behind him.

"I'm not sure, but I'm going to find out." Tyler said, voice low enough so that only the other boy could hear him. Tyler saw Jeremy nod out of the corner of his eye, before turning to smile reassuringly at Caroline. He was going to get his answers, but right now he wanted to enjoy the rest of the day with his friends.

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Thank you for reading! I hope you liked this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

Lost In You

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. I just borrow them for some fun.

Spoilers: All of Season 1. Also if you haven't figured out what Tyler's connection to the moon is you may want to stop reading at this point.

Author's Note: Here's another chapter. Once again sorry it took so long! I had been meaning to get it out sooner but real life got in the way.

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Tyler stood in his backyard, staring up at the moon. The silver sphere had been haunting him as it grew more full every evening. According to the calendar that Caroline had given him, the full moon was going to be the next night. Already Tyler could feel the pull in his bones and a renewed energy in his veins. Despite the fact that Caroline insisted that they couldn't be sure that he would turn into a wolf during the full moon, his instinct confirmed the impending metamorphosis.

Tyler trusted his own instinct. He knew that he would turn into a wolf tomorrow night, just as he knew something was amiss in his father's death, and that something was off with Garrick. Tyler was very sure that there was no manual written on being a werewolf, but had to rely on the instinct that his body would lead him through the transformation.

He and Caroline had already stopped at the hardware store to pick up some chains and rope. He wasn't sure what else they were supposed to do for preparation, tomorrow being his first time transitioning. He chuckled remembering how Caroline had struggled to drag those big chains up front to the counter, determined to prove that she could.

Mr. McKenzie, the older man at the counter had let out a deep laugh at the site of the tiny blonde with freshly polished nails and cute little pink sweat shorts and flip flops trying to haul those huge chains. He had made a comment about how she reminded him of his late wife with all that spit fire and stubbornness.

Tyler just shrugged helplessly as he followed her, carrying as much as she would allow him to. He would have thought that she would have insisted that he lug everything, being a guy and having the extra strength that came with being a werewolf. He did take pleasure though at 's snicker when Tyler lifted the chains up that she was carrying, trying to ease the weight without her knowledge. She may be trying to be helpful, but he was ever mindful that she was half his size and still not back in top form after the accident.

Now the chains were all coiled up in the back of his trunk, waiting for the field trip he was taking deep in the woods tomorrow. Tyler knew that Caroline would try to come with him, but he wasn't going to allow her to endanger herself in her attempt to help him, and was going to leave early the next morning to give himself a full day to set up and be mentally prepared for what was to come.

He was supposed to be with her and Jeremy at the Mystic Grill right now, burning off some steam by eating fatty food and shooting pool. He had sent her a text though saying he couldn't make it, knowing that she wouldn't hold it against him. Tyler sensed how tense he was, and didn't trust himself to be around a bunch of people at the moment.

Instead he was doing everything he could to burn that extra energy, and had spent the last hour and a half darting around the yard practicing football drills. Tyler had caught his mother watching him though the window a few times, but he had ignored her. He imagined that she was telling herself that he was just that dedicated, or that emotions over his father's death were what drove him to be practicing into the evening.

Tyler didn't care exactly what she thought and wasn't in a hurry to inform her of what was going on. Since learning that she had lied to him about the cause of his father's death, and had been hiding things from him his entire life, Tyler had decided that he wasn't going to tell anything to his mother until she did some sharing of her own.

With that in mind, Tyler picked up the old football that had been a gift from his father at one time, and started back up on his drills. Even the exercise was getting boring though and he knew that his smooth motions and his ability to do the motions without breaking a sweat meant that he wasn't gaining much from the practice.

Tyler had just finished a short sprint when he heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. He knew instantly that it was Caroline's, and hoped that she didn't bring Jeremy with her. As much as the two boys had grown closer lately, especially after their excursion to the swimming hole, Tyler had been avoiding finishing the conversation that he had started with Jeremy. Something told him that he could trust his former enemy, and that Jeremy already knew more about what was going on than he was saying, but Tyler was comfortable with only him and Caroline knowing right now.

He breathed out a sigh of relief when Caroline was the only one who exited the car, and was glad that she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't want a lot of company right now. Tyler and Caroline hadn't made any plans to meet up when he excused himself from the outing at the Grill, but he wasn't naïve enough to think that she would leave him alone the night before he turned. Not after how much she had been there with him through all of this.

Tyler was confused by her ensemble though, and raised an eyebrow at her short blue pajama bottoms and matching tank top. The big duffle bag confirmed his suspicion that she was planning on having a sleepover. Not only would that put a crimp in his plans to keep her from coming with him in the morning, but there was no way he was doing hair, painting nails, or whatever girls did during platonic sleepovers.

Not that Tyler necessarily wanted it to be platonic, proven when he had great enjoyment looking at her shapely rear end when she bent through her car door to retrieve a blanket and pillow. It was just that he couldn't be certain of her feelings for him, and knew that even if she had professed her undying love to him right now, that he was in no shape to be romantic with how tense he was that evening.

Tyler walked over to Caroline's car, and leaned himself against the truck while she cursed at the pillow for getting stuck in the seatbelts in the back. She glared at him when he snickered, only making him laugh harder. Tyler may be nicer to Caroline, and even to people in general, but he was still the arrogant jock and sometimes jerk, and that wasn't likely to ever change.

"You missed me kicking Jeremy's butt at pool tonight." Caroline said with a saucy smile but Tyler could see the concerned question in her eyes.

"As much as I'd have loved to see you beat Gilbert, I just wasn't feeling up to much company tonight." Tyler shrugged.

Caroline looked slightly hurt at his comment, despite the fact that he hadn't meant her. Tyler wasn't good at expressing his feelings, and ended up with his foot in his mouth more often than not. He wanted to tell her that she was always welcome at his house or wherever he was, but that just wasn't his nature.

"So did you bring snacks or magazines with naked bombshells for this sleepover you plan on us having?" Tyler opted for instead.

Caroline mock glared at him and replied with her hands on her hips, "I don't know what kind of sleepovers you usually have, and that is not an invitation to inform me about the girls you have over, but Playboys aren't on the list of typical sleepover reading materials." She waved one tiny finger at him to emphasize her point.

"I never said it had to be Playboy, Penthouse magazines are welcome as well." Tyler said with an almost innocent expression on his handsome face, ruined only by his devilish smirk.

Caroline couldn't help but find it adorable, but threw her large duffle bag at him to not give herself away. Tyler grunted at the weight and made a comment about her packing for a year, and followed her into his house.

"What did you pack in here? Dumbbells?" Tyler groaned as he dropped her bag on the floor of the guest room. Normally when a girl slept over they stayed in his room, but with his mother home he thought that she may not go for the shared room. Plus, this way it prevented Caroline from seeing his already packed bags in his bedroom, and would make it easier for him to sneak out in the morning without her.

Caroline rolled her pretty blue eyes at him and set her pillow and blanket on the bed. "For your information, I brought some movies for tonight, some food supplies for tomorrow and a couple changes of clothes."

Tyler didn't want to spark the argument already about her going with him, so he instead focused on the first part of the item list. "What movies?"

Caroline suddenly looked a little unsure of herself, and Tyler couldn't help but think that he was in for a long evening of chick flicks. Tyler didn't even allow girls that were putting out for him to subject him to such torture, but he knew that if asked to, he would for Caroline. He just hoped it didn't come to that.

"Don't look so afraid. I wasn't sure what mood you were in, so I brought some action flicks, some cheesy werewolf movies, and a couple of Disney ones." Caroline rushed out busying herself by getting the movies out to show him.

Tyler wasn't sure that he could see the humor in American Werewolf in Paris yet, but wasn't exactly looking forward to watching Bambi either. He wasn't sure why Caroline gave an amused grin at him when he contemplated Beauty and the Beast, and Tyler was certain that he didn't want to know whatever it was that she was thinking of.

He settled on Underworld, and popped it into the DVD player under the tv that was in the guest bedroom. Tyler and Caroline settled back onto the bed, while propping themselves up with pillows so they could watch better. He was instantly reminded of the first time that she had come to his home delivering lasagna and staying to watch The Departed, and couldn't help but smile fondly at the memory.

"Typical guy. Choosing a movie where the main character goes around in a tight leather and spandex one piece." Caroline teased.

"What can I say, Kate Beckingsdale looks hot in it." Tyler shrugged before grinning devilishly. "You should go as Selene next Halloween. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing you in that outfit." The idea of Caroline dressing like that was making him squirm a bit, especially since he was lying so close to her.

"We could go together, you already are a werewolf and wouldn't have to do more than take your shirt off." Caroline grinned but seemed to be looking at him in expectation.

"Too bad you aren't a vampire, then that would really be perfect." Tyler laughed, not knowing what she was looking for.

Something flitted across Caroline's face suddenly, like she was trying to remember something but it was just out of reach. Whatever was going on with her, it made her suddenly shift closer to him for warmth. Tyler certainly didn't mind, and with false casualness draped his arm behind them.

Caroline went back to watching the movie, but Tyler honestly had no interest in anything werewolf related with what was coming the next day. Between the extra energy that came with the approaching full moon, and how tense he was being this close to the girl he had a thing for, Tyler was almost ready to bail on the movie plan and go back to his football drills.

Tyler was finally ready to admit that he had the hots for the pretty blonde next to him, in a way that he hadn't ever for a girl before. Where he usually devoted all this time trying to get his latest conquest in bed, Caroline was different. Tyler actually wanted to do the movie dates and dinners at the grill. He wanted to be able to put his arm around her at school, and all the boyfriend stuff that he used to think was boring and cheesy.

He just wasn't sure how Caroline felt about him. She had been there for him through his father's death, the funeral, and now this werewolf business. When most would run away, Caroline had just held on tighter. Tyler just wasn't sure if it was because she had such a big heart or because she had feelings for him.

Tyler did know for sure that Matt wouldn't be okay with him dating his ex-girlfriend. While Tyler hadn't always been the best friend, he had never stooped as low as snagging his friend's girl. Tyler was sure that it would be worth risking Matt's wrath, to date the only girl who he had ever had this depth of feelings for, the one person he could truly be himself with, but he didn't want to lose his friend either.

Caroline startled him out of his thoughts when she squealed at whatever was going on in the movie. Her movement inched her even closer to him and she was practically curled into his chest at that point. Tyler glanced down at the long smooth legs that her short pajama pants revealed, and thought that the prospect of more sleepovers and skimpy pajamas definitely added another plus to the benefits of being a boyfriend list.

"Is this okay?" Caroline asked uncertain, seeming to have noticed that she was practically lying on top of Tyler.

"Sure. Whatever." Tyler shrugged, feigning casualness. He hoped that she didn't decide to move.

This time they both went back to watching the movie, and watching the hairy werewolves and the vampires duke it out. Tyler couldn't help but hope that his wolf looked nothing like the one on screen, because he had no desire to transform into a creature that looked like that.

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"Do you think it will hurt?" Tyler asked suddenly.

Caroline almost missed his quiet question, having been so engrossed in the movie and the feeling of Tyler's solid chest and steady heartbeat. She would never admit it to him, but she had purposely moved closer when the werewolf was coming after Selene. The scene wasn't that scary, but Caroline was all for using the moment in the movie as an excuse to get closer to Tyler.

She was aware when she chose the movie as an option for them to watch, that it might raise a few issues with Tyler. She knew that his transformation was constantly on his mind and that the last thing he might want was to be reminded of it. But Caroline also thought that it could be more awkward to ignore the giant hairy wolf shaped elephant in the room, and so brought the movie just in case. She was surprised actually that he had chosen it to watch.

Caroline didn't know how to answer the question. Part of her wanted to down play the whole thing and make light of it, hoping that would ease his fear. But the other part of her knew that he was asking a question he wanted an honest answer to, and sugar coating it wouldn't help him in the long run.

"I don't know. Jacob didn't seem to feel pain when shifting in Twilight, and neither do the werewolves on True Blood. The werewolves in this movie don't seem to either." Caroline offered up hesitantly.

"Those were movies and a tv show though Forbes. I don't think that Hollywood is going to tell me much about what it's going to be really like." Tyler said pointedly.

"I'm not sure what it is that you want me to tell you. All my efforts to look more into it have just given contradicting information or been from a movie. You do know where we could get more information." Caroline said looking up at him.

"No. Not happening. I'm not going to ask him." Tyler stared hard back down at her.

"I'm not saying that you have to create friendship bracelets for each other, but maybe our mysterious man from the woods could help you?" Caroline shot back.

"I'm not asking Garrick and that's final." Tyler bit out and went back to watching the movie to stop the conversation. Caroline ignored the hint.

"It's just a suggestion. You may not like him, but he's the only person that can help. Either way, we'll get you through this. I promise." Caroline said gently. She rubbed his chest in small circles, hoping that it would relax him.

She was confused when he tensed up at first and shifted a little at her contact, but was relieved when the tension in his muscles started to ease. Caroline knew that bringing up Garrick was going to get that reaction, since Tyler had made it pretty clear he didn't like Mr. Tall Dark and Mysterious, or trust him. Caroline had to suggest Tyler talk with Garrick though, because pride and male egos aside, what she said was the truth. Garrick seemed to be the only one who knew what was actually going on with this werewolf stuff.

Caroline was trying her best to be the perfect sidekick and to help Tyler through all the bad things that had been happening to him lately, but she was limited in her knowledge of what to do. To be honest, she was terrified of what Tyler would be going through the next day, and somehow she was certain that he would never be the same after.

With that thought in mind, she snuggled deeper and held him tighter, determined that they would enjoy this evening and possibly the last night of somewhat normal existence. Caroline smiled when Tyler laid his head on top of hers, and was pleased that he hadn't made a comment about them cuddling. She wasn't sure if it was because he needed to comfort or because he wanted to be as close to her, as she wanted to be to him, but Tyler seemed to be enjoying the contact.

They finished the movie in relative silence, the only sound in the room being the breaths coming from them. When the movie ended, Tyler muted the sound and lay back. Caroline just stayed where she was, lost in thought, watching the ending credits scroll across the screen.

"It's like Romeo and Juliet, the vampire and werewolf thing. It's so romantic. Forbidden love." Caroline broke the silence, smiling dreamily at the idea. "Don't you think?"

"No. It's just depressing and seems to mess up everyone around them. It never ends well." Tyler said with a shrug, ignoring the glare that Caroline sent his way.

"So you don't find the idea romantic at all?" Caroline asked sitting up to look at him better.

"Not really. I remember reading Romeo and Juliet for Mrs. Hensbee's English class last year, and thinking, this is just really stupid." Tyler grimaced.

"Stupid?" Caroline half shouted, tossing a pillow at Tyler which he easily caught.

"People died all so that these people could get their happily ever after, but they didn't. In those type of stories they don't. What's the point then? All that misery and death, and the couple didn't even end up together. It's not worth it, and I'm sure that those around them who suffered, didn't think so either." Tyler said unapologetically.

"So if you found that one person you were meant to be with, you wouldn't do anything to be with her? You wouldn't defy the rules to be together?" Caroline asked.

"For the right girl, I would. She would have to mean everything to me. It would be a messy situation and I don't find it romantic at all. But for that person, I probably would. But I would still do my best to try to keep the people that I love most from being hurt. I'm not sure if I could deal with anything happening to them. Not if it was because of me." Tyler said rushed, like he had been thinking about this for a while.

"So for the right girl? Even if she was a vampire like in Underworld?" Caroline teased but her eyes were serious as they locked onto Tyler's. She wanted to hug him after his admission, but she needed to know this first.

"For her, yes." Tyler said, staring right back at her.

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So what did you think of the chapter? Do you agree with Tyler or Caroline? If you have time leave me a review and let me know!


	8. Chapter 8

Lost In You

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or its characters. I just borrow them for some fun.

Spoilers: All of Season 1. Also if you haven't figured out what Tyler's connection to the moon is you may want to stop reading at this point.

Author's Note: Another long wait! I apologize! I'll be done with school in a couple of weeks and will have a lot more time to devote to this then.

Thank you for all your reviews! You are all amazing!

Also, there seemed to be some confusion about last chapter and I apologize for that as well. In this story Caroline is not a vampire, it was more a reference to the show. As for the Romeo and Juliet argument, people seemed to think both were correct.

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Tyler woke up to the feeling of a soft body pressing against his, and strands of blond hair tickling his nose. He took a moment to soak in her warmth and scent of peach, before slowly starting to slide his body away from hers. Tyler had meant to go sleep in his own room last night, so that getting out the door before Caroline noticed he was gone would be easier, but he had fallen asleep during one of the movies they had watched.

Tyler managed to slide from the bed without it moving too much, and slowly made his way across the carpeted floor of the guest bedroom. Luckily his mother had come up at some point, insisting that the door remain at least partly open if a girl was spending the night, so it was easy to sneak through the entrance without disturbing Caroline's slumber.

Against his better judgment and his need to get on the road quickly, Tyler took a quick shower before disembarking on his road trip. His bags were already packed and it only took a minute to get dressed and grab them before heading out to his car. He had told his mother that he was spending the night at Matt's, so she wouldn't get worried if he didn't come home.

Tyler had preloaded the chains into his car the day before, and kept reminding himself that he may need to ask his mother if he could trade it in for a truck. If he was going to be taking monthly drives through the woods, then a four wheel drive vehicle would be better for him to have. It would certainly be easier to lug the heavy chains with it.

He had no sooner opened the door, when he could hear a feminine grunt behind him. Tyler turned around and growled in frustration when he saw Caroline still wearing her pajamas, and lugging her heavy bags down the steps. His attempt at getting out the door without her noticing had obviously failed, and he prepared himself for the battle with her over her coming with him.

Caroline swung a bag over her shoulder, blew a strand off her face, and gave him a look that said that he should come over and help her. Tyler sighed and strolled over where she was, only to take her bags and start walking them back into the house.

"I believe the car is the other way." Caroline said, and Tyler didn't have to even turn around to know that she was standing there with her hands on her hips.

"It is. But you are going this way." Tyler said smirking. He absolutely loved riling her up despite knowing this was a serious subject.

"Tyler! You are not doing this without me!" Caroline said, running in quick little steps to come and stand in front of him. Her face looked agitated and her arms were out in a stop position.

Tyler sighed, and put down the bags. He knew this was going to be a long fight, and this was what he had been trying to avoid when he had planned to sneak out early. He didn't mind arguing with her, in fact he sort of enjoyed it, but it was the last thing he wanted to do today of all days.

"Care, you are not going with me. End of story." Tyler said in a quiet, but firm voice.

Caroline's face seemed to soften at his use of the nickname, but he could see that she was also preparing herself for a long argument. Her hands came to her hips again, and she threw her head back so she could look him squarely in the face. Their eyes locked in held, neither willing to give in.

"We have no idea what will happen to you out there. I'm not going to let you face that alone." Caroline said softly.

"Exactly! We don't know what will happen. If something goes wrong, I could hurt you." Tyler said gently, trying to get her to understand.

"You won't hurt me. I know you won't." Caroline said with a shake of her head.

"I already have." Tyler said looking away.

Caroline looked confused and then nodded her understanding. They hadn't talked about the car accident much, but it was something that Tyler thought about almost every day. She may be up, being her bossy and spirited self now, but he hadn't forgotten how close of a call that was.

"That was an accident and I don't blame you for what happened." Caroline said, her hand coming to his cheek and forcing him to look at her.

"Well accidents can happen in the woods as well. I couldn't stop the accident. I didn't know what was going on. But now that I know more, it's even more dangerous." Tyler said with a shake of his head.

"I don't think so."

"You could die if something goes wrong this time!" Tyler yelled, frustrated that she was fighting with him on her safety. It wasn't like Caroline to risk her own health this way, and he wasn't at all thrilled that she was willing to risk it for him.

"Tyler we bought chains, the strongest ones that we could find. It's not like I'm going out there without any protection. Plus, I didn't want to tell you this earlier, but I snagged a few tranquilizer darts from my mother." Caroline blushing.

Tyler couldn't help but laugh at her and how embarrassed she looked. He didn't mind that she brought protection against him, in fact he felt a lot better for it.

"Look at you Forbes. You went from sneaking alcohol from your mom's stash to tranquilizer darts." Tyler teased her.

"Well, it's not like that didn't occur to me either." Caroline said, her face beat red now as she bent down to unzip her bag. Tyler could only raise an eyebrow at the large bottle of rum that she pulled out.

He wanted to shake her shoulders until she listened to him, but to be honest, he was terrified and didn't want to face what was coming alone. It made him feel like a selfish jackass that he was even considering letting her come now. If it had been Gilbert, he wouldn't have even hesitated, but Caroline made him want to protect her. Still, he had a feeling that even if he didn't agree, she would just follow him anyways.

"Fine. But at the first sign that things are going bad, you run to the car and drive away." Tyler said resigned, but looking her in the eye so she knew he was serious.

"Good. Now that you aren't trying to ditch me I'm going to go take a shower." Caroline huffed, and stomped off to the stairway. Tyler rolled his eyes and moved to carry her bags back out to the car.

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Caroline took the quickest shower she'd ever taken, not entirely certain that Tyler wouldn't still try to leave without her. When she looked out the window though and saw that his car was still in the driveway, she allowed herself to take her time putting make up on, getting dressed, and doing her hair. Just because they'd be out in the woods didn't mean that she couldn't look nice.

She had chosen a pair of older jeans, a slightly sporty tank top and a zip up hooded sweatshirt to wear for the day. Her long blonde hair was up in a pony tail, the ends slightly curled, with wisps framing her face. Pink, silver, and white sneakers completed her outfit. Caroline thought that she looked ready to take on anything.

Tyler looked like he disagreed, as she joined him again outside. His crossed arms and impatient foot taping implied that he had gotten tired of waiting. Caroline rolled her eyes in response, figuring that his impatience was a product of him not ever having any serious girlfriends, and that he wasn't used to having to wait for girls to get ready. He'd just have to deal with it.

Everything was packed so they just climbed into the car, and headed out. There was a comfortable silence between them as they made their way out of town, and the only sound in the car was the low tones of a melody on the radio.

"Where are we going?" Caroline asked. He hadn't told her ahead of time, and she now knew that was an attempt to prevent her from joining him.

"About an hour from here there's a turn off point where the road starts going deeper into the woods. There's some pretty sturdy trees out that way. I figured I could chain myself to one, and it's far from the nearest town in case that doesn't work." Tyler replied. "I checked the placed out the other day after school. It was the best place I could find."

"It might be difficult to chain yourself up, I can help." Caroline looked over at him, her eagerness to help written all over her face.

"Forbes, I didn't know that you were into that sort of stuff." Tyler smirked at her, laughing when she lightly hit his arm.

"I'm not!" she exclaimed while laughing.

"Hey, I'm not judging you." Tyler held up a hand in defense. "It's not really my sort of thing, but you can feel free to act out your kinky ideas on me anytime."

"Leave it to you to turn this into some kinky sex joke." Caroline pulled a face at him.

The rest of the trip was filled with his teasing, her exclamations, and lots of laughter. As they got closer to their destination, the jokes became more strained, and so were the responses. They knew that once they got there, that they'd have to focus on the evening. What they were facing wasn't a laughing matter.

They pulled into a clearing, the car looking a little worse for the wear since it wasn't an off the road vehicle. Caroline got out of the car to start helping Tyler unload things from the trunk. He wouldn't let her take the larger stuff, and delegated her to just carrying her duffel bag and the backpack with a spare set of clothing and some water.

Tyler and Caroline debated on whether to start a fire or not. He thought that it was likely to start a forest fire, and she thought that it would be a good way for them to stay warm when it got cold that night. She won after she pointed out that if everything went wrong and he broke free, that the fire might scare the wolf and keep him away from her.

Caroline wasn't the most outdoorsy person, and had no idea how to actually start a fire herself. Luckily Tyler had been on a few camping trips with his football team, and knew what to do. She was also really glad that he brought a lighter to help, because the rubbing two sticks together method always seemed to take forever in the movies.

Caroline had pointed out weeks ago that they couldn't be sure that the moon had to be out in order for Tyler to change, so they had decided that getting there early, just in case, would be best. Since they left so early, it was only eleven in the morning when they got there. Unpacking and setting up stuff had taken a little bit of time, but they were suddenly left with nothing to do but wait for nightfall.

He looked so lost standing in the clearing with nothing to do but wait for his fate. For all of Tyler's bravado about the transformation, she knew that he was nervous. Caroline suddenly wished that Jeremy was there because she felt unprepared on how to help make this easier for Tyler. If it were Elena or Bonnie there would be a lot of hugging, crying, and maybe some ice cream eating. Caroline knew that probably wasn't the way to go with Tyler.

"So what now?" She asked softly.

"You still have that rum?" Tyler responded.

Caroline reached over to her duffel bag that was sitting by her sleeping bag, and pulled out the rum she had showed him earlier. She hadn't brought any cups or glasses, so they would have to drink straight from the bottle. Something about the ruggedness of that seemed right in their current situation.

They sat down on some blankets with the bottle placed between them and stared at each other. Finally Caroline suggested that they play a game to pass the time while drinking. She was up for anything that would take Tyler's mind off what was coming.

"Okay, this is how we're playing. I'll go first and ask you a question. It can be anything I want. You have a choice. You can either answer the question or pass, but if you pass you have to drink." Caroline said smirking at him.

"Fine, I'm in. What's your question?" Tyler said.

"What's your favorite movie?" Caroline asked.

"That's it?"

"I'm starting off easy. Don't worry, the questions will get a lot more juicy later." Caroline teased.

"Fight Club." Tyler answered.

"Is it really? That's such a typical guy answer." Caroline questioned skeptically.

"Fine. It's Ninja Turtles 2." Tyler scowled at her while flushing a little.

"You lied! You have to take a drink for that!" Caroline exclaimed.

Tyler took a quick swig from the bottle. His facial expression was comical as he used his forearm to wipe his mouth.

"Okay, my turn. But remember I went easy on you." Caroline said pointing a finger at him.

"I had to drink the first time up. How is that easy?" Tyler pointed out.

"It was an easy question. You only had to drink because you didn't answer truthfully." Caroline said feeling smug.

"Whatever Forbes! What's your favorite color?" Tyler asked with a shrug.

"Purple, or red. It depends." Caroline answered. "Who was your first kiss?"

"Shelby Gallant. Spin the bottle in fifth grade." Tyler answered with a smirk.

"You did not!" Caroline exclaimed. "I heard she moved to the Richmond and is the head cheerleader of a high school there now."

"I know" Tyler raised his eyebrows up and down suggestively. "Who was yours?"

"Scott Cummings." Caroline said blushing.

"The guy who farts when he walks?"

"It was in middle school and I thought he was someone else. Not every frog a girl kisses turns out to be a prince." Caroline explained.

"I guess not. Have you kissed any princes yet?" Tyler asked.

"I thought I had, with Matt. But he didn't end up being the prince I thought he was either. He's a great guy, but definitely not the right one for me. Plus when he kissed it was like he was trying to swallow my face. It was sort of gross." Caroline said with a blush and a slight shudder. "Maybe there's just no prince out there for me."

"Maybe there isn't, or maybe you just haven't kissed the right guy yet Forbes."

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There you go! Sorry it's a little bit shorter of a chapter. If you prefer the shorter chapters, or like the longer ones let me know.

As always, please review if you have time! It's your amazing reviews that keep me motivated to keep working on this fic.

Thank you to Helenxo, Gaara-l0ve, Leandra, DofD, Maii, WAren Maxwell, rosie4299, Vildesm, FlamingRose11, journey17, KeepSteady, 1Ames, TVDfan009, and Forwoodx3 for reviewing last chapter!


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